Interpol recovers $105 million in African cybercrime sweep, shuts illegal crypto mines

24 Oct 2026

24 Oct 2026, 01:50 UTC+02:00

One of Africa’s largest cybercrime crackdowns has ended with more than a thousand arrests and a hit on illegal crypto mining. Interpol said on Thursday that police from 21 countries arrested 1,462 suspects, disrupted 10,909 malicious networks and recovered more than $105 million.

The operation

Operation Serengeti III ran from 29 June to 31 August 2026 and targeted ransomware, online scams, business email compromise, digital extortion and other fraud. Authorities identified 65,929 victims, and financial investigations linked the networks to losses of more than $385 million.

Crypto angles

In Angola, investigators dismantled two illegal crypto mining centers, arrested nine people and seized more than 2,000 mining devices plus six illegal power transformation stations. The electrical equipment alone was worth over $1 million, according to Interpol. Illegal mining that taps the grid has been a recurring problem in several countries because it steals power and strains local networks.

In Nigeria, a suspect was arrested over an international investment fraud promoted through messaging apps. Investigators traced more than $2.4 million in suspected proceeds, much of it laundered through crypto. Ugandan authorities broke up two transnational fraud rings and arrested 365 foreign nationals tied to investment and pension scams aimed at victims in Asia, using call center scripts, fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites.

Private partners including Group-IB, Kaspersky, blockchain analytics firm Uppsala Security and Meta supported the operation. Several investigations are still open. “Cybercrime networks operate without regard for borders,” said Neal Jetton, Interpol’s director of cybercrime.

What it means for traders

• Fake trading platforms are everywhere: the Ugandan rings used sites that looked like real brokers. Always reach an exchange by typing its known address, never through a link from a chat or a cold call.
• Blockchain tracing works: crypto proceeds were followed across borders. Crypto is not anonymous, which helps victims and investigators.
• Verify before depositing: our exchange comparison lists established exchanges with their licences, and our testing methodology explains what we check.

Sources

• Decrypt: Interpol Recovers $105M in African Cybercrime Sweep That Shut Illegal Crypto Mines

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