A global sting operation coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) has led to multiple arrests in Nigeria and five other African countries, unmasking a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors across 17 countries of more than $562 million.
The two-month crackdown, codenamed Operation Catalyst, ran from July to September 2025, targeting criminal syndicates involved in terrorism financing, money laundering, and digital fraud across the continent. INTERPOL described it as the first joint enforcement effort combining financial crime, cybercrime, and counter-terrorism units across multiple African nations.
According to INTERPOL, the coordinated raids led to 83 arrests in Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, and three other countries, with more than 160 individuals of interest identified and about $260 million in illicit funds traced in both fiat and cryptocurrencies.
In Nigeria, authorities arrested 11 suspected terrorists, including alleged senior members of extremist organisations, some of whom were found to have participated in a sophisticated crypto investment network that masked criminal transactions as legitimate trading activity.
“Several high-value crypto wallets tied to the operation are now under forensic investigation, with authorities tracing transactions suspected to have been funnelled into terrorism-related activities,” INTERPOL said in its statement.
The agency added that a Red Notice has been issued for one of the scheme’s alleged masterminds accused of scamming victims of about $5 million through a maze of wallets and exchanges designed to obscure financial trails.
Across the six participating nations, more than 15,000 individuals and entities were screened, resulting in the seizure of roughly $600,000 in assets. INTERPOL said additional recovery efforts are ongoing as investigators widen the probe into other related crypto-fraud networks.
INTERPOL’s secretary-general, Valdecy Urquiza, described the operation as a landmark in continental law enforcement cooperation.
“Operation Catalyst is the first time financial crime, cybercrime, and counter-terrorism units from multiple African countries have joined forces to target the financing of terrorism,” Urquiza said. “By sharing intelligence and resources, we can more effectively disrupt financial flows that support terrorist activities,” Urquiza said.
AFRIPOL’s Executive Director, Ambassador Jalel Chelba, said the operation demonstrates the power of collaboration among African security agencies.
“The operation shows that when African law enforcement agencies unite, they can offer a decisive and coordinated response to complex and evolving security threats,” Chelba said.
Operation Catalyst also benefited from data and cyber-intelligence support from private-sector partners including Binance, Moody’s, and Uppsala Security, underscoring the growing role of blockchain analytics in financial crime prevention.
Earlier in August, INTERPOL had announced the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals and the dismantling of 11,432 malicious online infrastructures under Operation Serengeti 2.0, a separate three-month crackdown that recovered $97.4 million from cyber fraud targeting nearly 88,000 victims across 18 African countries and the United Kingdom.
Cybersecurity and financial crime experts described the latest arrests as a watershed in Africa’s fight against crypto-enabled criminal networks.
Dr. Hassan Ibrahim, an Abuja-based cybersecurity analyst, said the bust exposes how crypto anonymity can be weaponised for terrorism financing. Professor Sadeeq Aliyu of the University of Ilorin observed that Nigeria’s inclusion in the 17-country network shows that African crypto crimes are no longer local but transnational.
Fintech consultant, Nneka Okonkwo, said the $562 million scale of the fraud proves regulators must move faster than criminals in tracking crypto transactions, while blockchain researcher, Tony Nnadi, noted that with over 100,000 victims across Africa, the case underscores the need for stronger KYC enforcement across exchanges.
A retired DSS officer, Abubakar Sule, described INTERPOL’s action as evidence of a shift from reactive policing to predictive intelligence in cyber-financial crimes. Economist, Dr. Ifeoma Nwodo, said crypto Ponzi schemes thrive where financial literacy is low and oversight weak.
Security analyst, John Adekunle, said cooperation between INTERPOL, AFRIPOL, and major exchanges like Binance represents the future of financial crime fighting, while Nairobi-based policy expert, James Mwangi, called for the development of a continental crypto compliance framework to stay ahead of organised cybercriminals.
Forensics specialist, Dr. Blessing Ofor, said the tracing of $260 million in digital assets shows criminals can no longer hide behind blockchain pseudonyms. Similarly, anti-money laundering expert, Gloria Omolade, noted that the 83 arrests across six nations signal the end of jurisdictional safe havens for crypto fraudsters.
Experts agree that Operation Catalyst signals a new phase in international law enforcement—one in which digital asset markets are no longer beyond regulatory reach.
