Interpol operation in Africa leads to 1,462 arrests and 10,909 malicious networks dismantled

Investigators recovered more than $105 million in illicit funds, a sign that money trails are being followed as well as servers taken down.

Interpol says Operation Serengeti III, run between June 29 and August 31 with 21 countries and private partners including Team Cymru, Kaspersky, Group-IB and Fortinet, led to 1,462 arrests and the dismantling of 10,909 malicious networks. Investigators tied the operation to 65,929 victims and estimated losses above $385 million, and recovered more than $105 million in illicit funds. In Uganda, 365 people were arrested over suspected links to online investment and pension fraud, while in Angola nine suspects were held and more than 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices were seized. In Nigeria a single person is suspected of running a phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested about 2.1 million email addresses. The earlier Serengeti campaigns recorded fewer arrests, at 1,006 and 1,209 respectively, so this round is the largest of the three by that count.