Interpol coordinated a multi-country crackdown on cybercrime across Africa, involving law enforcement agencies from 21 nations. Operation Serengeti III, which took place from June 29 to August 31, 2026, resulted in 1,462 arrests and the disruption of 10,909 malicious networks. Authorities identified 65,929 victims, with total financial losses linked to these criminal activities exceeding $385 million.
During the operation, investigators recovered more than $105 million in illicit funds. In Angola, police dismantled two illegal crypto mining centers, seizing over 2,000 mining devices and six power transformation stations valued at more than $1 million. Nine individuals were arrested in connection with these mining operations.
In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect linked to an investment fraud scheme that laundered over $2.4 million through cryptocurrency transactions. Meanwhile, Ugandan officials arrested 365 foreign nationals involved in transnational fraud rings that targeted pensioners in Asia using fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites.
Additional enforcement actions included the arrest of 30 suspects in the Republic of Congo and a Nigerian individual accused of a phishing operation involving 2.1 million email addresses. Private-sector partners, including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Uppsala Security, and Meta, provided support for the operation.
This initiative follows Operation Catalyst, conducted in 2025, which targeted terrorist financing and cybercrime. That effort led to 83 arrests across six African countries and identified $260 million in illicit crypto and fiat assets, with $600,000 seized at the time.
