Interpol

9 days agoNews Editor

Interpol Recovers More Than $105 Million in African Cybercrime Sweep and Shuts Illegal Crypto Mines

Interpol said a coordinated cybercrime crackdown across 21 African countries led to 1,462 arrests, the disruption of 10,909 malicious networks, and the recovery of more than $105 million in illicit funds. The operation, called Serengeti III, ran from June 29 to August 31, 2026, and targeted ransomware, online scams, business email compromise, digital extortion, and other forms of cyber-enabled fraud. Authorities identified 65,929 victims, while financial investigations tied the networks to losses exceeding $385 million. Cases highlighted by Interpol included the dismantling of two illegal crypto mining centers in Angola, an investment fraud case in Nigeria in which more than $2.4 million in suspected proceeds was traced through crypto transactions, and two transnational fraud rings in Uganda that used fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites to target victims in Asia. Interpol said private-sector partners including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Uppsala Security, and Meta supported the operation, and added that several investigations are still ongoing.

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Interpol

9 days agoNews Editor

Interpol says 21-country operation seized over $105 million and exposed crypto-linked crime

Interpol said it coordinated law enforcement agencies across 21 countries from June 29 to Aug. 31, 2026, in Operation Serengeti III, a cross-border crackdown targeting cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, online scams and digital extortion. The operation led to 1,462 arrests, the dismantling of 10,909 malicious networks, and the recovery of more than $105 million in illicit funds. Investigators also identified 65,929 victims, while financial probes linked the cases to losses exceeding $385 million. Interpol disclosed several country-level cases tied to crypto activity. In Angola, authorities shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers, arrested nine suspects, and seized more than 2,000 mining devices along with six illegal power transformer stations. The seized power infrastructure alone was valued at more than $1 million. In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect tied to large-scale phishing and business email compromise activity that collected about 2.1 million email addresses and software credentials. A separate investigation found an international investment scam promoted through a messaging app had moved more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, most of which was laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.

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Bit.Fan