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The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has introduced the arrest of a Nigerian suspect linked to an alleged $2.4 million worldwide fraud perpetrated by way of messaging apps, with proceeds allegedly laundered by way of cryptocurrency transactions.
This was disclosed in an announcement on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
INTERPOL described the event as a part of considered one of Africa’s largest cybercrime enforcement operations, which noticed regulation enforcement companies from 21 international locations, together with Nigeria, arrest 1,462 suspects, disrupt 10,909 malicious networks and recuperate greater than $105 million in illicit funds.
INTERPOL’s operational highlights
In Nigeria, the company said that authorities had arrested a suspect behind a large-scale phishing and enterprise electronic mail compromise operation that harvested software program credentials and amassed roughly 2.1 million electronic mail addresses.
Investigators have been additionally mentioned to have recovered a luxurious automobile suspected of getting been bought with prison proceeds.
- INTERPOL additionally disclosed that “a separate Nigerian investigation targeted an international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps, leading to the arrest of a suspect.”
- According to INTERPOL, monetary investigations revealed that the suspect had moved greater than $2.4 million in suspected prison proceeds, a lot of which was allegedly laundered by way of cryptocurrency transactions.
- “In Uganda, authorities dismantled two transnational fraud rings and arrested 365 overseas nationals linked to classy on-line funding and pension fraud schemes concentrating on victims throughout Asia. Investigators uncovered a rotating call-centre mannequin utilizing scripted communications, pretend buying and selling platforms and fraudulent web sites to deceive pensioners into investing in non-existent alternatives.
- “In Angola, investigators dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres, arresting nine suspects and seizing more than 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices alongside six illegal power transformation stations. The seized electrical infrastructure alone was valued at more than USD 1 million,” the assertion partly reads.
INTERPOl’s Operation Serengeti
The operation, tagged “Operation Serengeti III,” was performed by taking part international locations between June 29 and August 31, 2026.
It focused cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, enterprise electronic mail compromise (BEC), on-line scams and digital extortion.
- “Authorities identified 65,929 victims targeted by cybercriminal networks, underscoring the scale and sophistication of today’s digital threats. Financial investigations linked criminal activity to losses exceeding USD 385 million,” the assertion added.
Ahead of the operation, INTERPOL mentioned investigators from 20 African international locations and the United States had been supplied with actionable intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses and command-and-control infrastructure linked to prison exercise.
Operation Serengeti III was additionally supported by private-sector companions to disrupt cybercriminal networks working throughout Africa.
The companions offered crucial intelligence, technical evaluation and operational experience, serving to authorities determine targets, map prison networks and help investigative actions throughout the area.
INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Neal Jetton, mentioned:
- “Cybercrime networks operate without regard for borders, exploiting technology to target victims on an unprecedented scale.”
The official maintained that though cybercrime was more and more borderless, worldwide cooperation remained probably the most efficient instruments for disrupting prison networks, recovering prison property and defending communities from digital hurt.
The taking part international locations have been Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Backstory
The operation follows INTERPOL’s African Cyber Threat Assessment Report 2026, which pointed to a quickly evolving menace panorama, with synthetic intelligence more and more enabling cybercrime throughout the continent.
Citing the report, Nairametrics beforehand reported that Nigeria was recognized as each a serious goal of cyberattacks and a key supply of cyber-enabled monetary crime in Africa.
The report discovered that whereas Nigerian authorities companies and companies have been more and more being focused by ransomware assaults, prison networks working from the nation continued to play a distinguished function in enterprise electronic mail compromise (BEC) schemes and worldwide cash laundering.
The report additionally highlighted Nigeria as considered one of Africa’s ransomware hotspots, recording 5,822 detections in 2025.
What you must know
In March 2026, INTERPOL mentioned an estimated $442 billion was misplaced globally to monetary fraud in 2025.
INTERPOL disclosed this in its Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment report, revealed in March 2026.
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