A coordinated international operation led by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL has led to multiple arrests in Nigeria, including suspects linked to a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme believed to have defrauded investors across 17 countries of over $562 million.
While the names and nationalities of the arrested suspects were not disclosed, INTERPOL said the two-month sweep (July–September 2025) dubbed Operation Catalyst, targeted financial crimes connected to terrorism financing and money laundering across Africa.
INTERPOL described the crackdown as the first of its kind, leading to 83 arrests across six African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Angola, with authorities identifying more than 160 persons of interest and tracing illicit funds worth around $260 million in both fiat and virtual currencies.
Nigerian arrests tied to terrorism and crypto fraud
In Nigeria, 11 suspected terrorists, including alleged senior members of extremist groups, were arrested as part of the coordinated action.
- The security agency said investigators also uncovered links between Nigerian participants and a global cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that masqueraded as a legitimate trading platform but was found to have connections to terrorist financing.
- According to INTERPOL, the fraudulent scheme spanned at least 17 countries, including Cameroon and Kenya, and affected over 100,000 victims.
“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,” it stated.
In addition, INTERPOL disclosed that a Red Notice has been issued for one of the scheme’s alleged masterminds, who is accused of scamming victims of roughly $5 million through an elaborate network of crypto wallets and exchange platforms designed to obscure money trails.
$600,000 seized, further asset recovery underway
Across the six countries, more than 15,000 individuals and entities were screened during the operation, leading to the seizure of approximately $600,000 so far.
- INTERPOL said investigations are ongoing to trace and recover additional assets linked to both terrorism financing and financial fraud schemes.
- The agency’s Secretary General, Valdecy Urquiza, described the effort as a milestone in cross-border policing collaboration.
“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.
“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, also highlighted the value of synergy among African law enforcement agencies in combating sophisticated financial crimes.
“The operation shows that when African security agencies unite, they can offer a decisive and coordinated response to complex and evolving security threats,” Chelba noted.
Operation Catalyst was backed by data and cyber intelligence support from private-sector partners, including Binance, Moody’s, and Uppsala Security.
What you should know
Earlier in August, INTERPOL, in collaboration with authorities across Africa, had announced the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals and dismantled 11,432 malicious online infrastructures in one of the largest crackdowns on cybercrime in the region.
- The operation, codenamed Serengeti 2.0, ran from June to August 2025 and led to the recovery of $97.4 million linked to online fraud targeting nearly 88,000 victims.
- The operation brought together investigators from 18 African countries and the United Kingdom to tackle high-impact cybercrimes, including ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and online scams—threats highlighted in INTERPOL’s latest Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report.
