Interpol Cybercrime Sweep Recovers Over $105 Million, Nets 1,462 Arrests

Authorities from 21 countries arrested 1,462 suspects and recovered more than $105 million in illicit funds during Operation Serengeti III, an Interpol-coordinated cybercrime crackdown, the agency announced on Oct. 22.

Running from June 29 through Aug. 31, 2026, the operation targeted cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, online scams and digital extortion. Investigators disrupted 10,909 malicious networks. The operation involved 20 African countries and the United States.

Cryptocurrency featured in mining raids and a fraud investigation, but Interpol did not disclose what share of the recovered funds or disrupted networks involved crypto. The $105 million-plus figure covers the operation as a whole.

In Angola, authorities dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers, arrested nine suspects and seized more than 2,000 mining devices, according to Interpol. They also seized six illegal power transformation stations, with the electrical infrastructure alone valued at more than $1 million.

In Nigeria, Interpol said an investigation into an international investment fraud scheme promoted through messaging apps traced more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of it laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.

Chainalysis said it was “proud to have supported it” through the World Economic Forum's Cybercrime Atlas. The WEF-hosted initiative uses open-source research to map criminal operations, networks and infrastructure and provide actionable research for disruption efforts.

Interpol named Cybercrime Atlas among the operation's partners and said private-sector support included intelligence, technical analysis and help mapping criminal networks. Its release did not specify Chainalysis's individual contribution.

Separate From Operation Blackout

Serengeti III predates the October West Africa enforcement week covered by The Defiant. The Justice Department said that effort, during the week beginning Oct. 6, produced 28 arrests in Ghana and Nigeria. Private-sector partners identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds—a recovery lead, rather than money already recovered.

Separately, the FBI reported on Oct. 13 roughly $17 billion in “assets and crypto” seized under its global Operation Blackout campaign. That is a broader campaign tally, not a recovery total for Serengeti III or the October West Africa raids.

Interpol said several Serengeti III investigations remain active, with authorities continuing to identify suspects, trace illicit proceeds and analyze seized digital evidence.