Interpol Sweep Across Africa Recovers $105 Million and Shuts Illegal Crypto Mines

One of Africa's largest cybercrime crackdowns has wrapped up with more than 1,400 arrests and over $105 million recovered, Interpol said this week.

The operation

Police from 21 countries took part in Operation Serengeti III between June 29 and Aug. 31, Interpol said in a statement on Oct. 22. They arrested 1,462 suspects, disrupted 10,909 malicious networks and identified nearly 66,000 victims. Investigators tied the networks to losses of more than $385 million from scams, ransomware, business email compromise and online extortion.

The crypto angle

In Angola, authorities shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers, arrested nine people and seized more than 2,000 mining machines along with six illegal power stations; the electrical equipment alone was valued at over $1 million. In Nigeria, one investigation tracked more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of it laundered through cryptocurrency. Uganda's police broke up two fraud rings that used fake trading platforms to target pensioners.

"Cybercrime networks operate without regard for borders, exploiting technology to target victims on an unprecedented scale," said Neal Jetton, Interpol's director of cybercrime.

Why it matters

Illegal mining and crypto-based laundering hurt legitimate users and give the industry a bad name. Coordinated action across borders, supported by private security firms, shows that crypto's public ledgers can help investigators follow the money and protect people from fraud.