INTERPOL has recovered more than $105 million in illicit funds and arrested 1,462 suspects across Africa in a coordinated cybercrime operation. The crackdown, codenamed Operation Serengeti III, dismantled 10,909 malicious networks across 21 countries, including 19 African nations, between June 29 and August 31, 2026. Authorities targeted online scams, ransomware, investment fraud, business email compromise and digital extortion. INTERPOL said investigators identified 65,929 victims, and financial inquiries linked the activity to losses exceeding $385 million. In Uganda, law enforcement dismantled two transnational fraud networks and arrested 365 foreign nationals accused of involvement in online investment and pension scams. Investigators said the schemes used call centres with fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites to lure investors. In Angola, authorities shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres, arrested nine suspects, and seized more than 2,000 mining devices and six illegal electrical substations valued at more than $1 million. In Nigeria, police arrested a suspect accused of phishing and business email compromise activity, harvesting software credentials and about 2.1 million email addresses. A separate investigation into international investment scams uncovered transfers of more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal funds, with part of the money laundered through cryptocurrencies. Other parts of the operation included dismantling a fraudulent mobile loan scheme in Tanzania, disrupting a vehicle import fraud network in Gabon, and arresting 30 suspects in the Republic of Congo. Participating countries were Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. INTERPOL said some investigations are still underway to identify more suspects and trace illicit funds. Source: Voice of Nigeria (VON).