Operation Serengeti III: 1,462 Arrests in Major Cybercrime Crackdown Across Africa

• •1,462 suspects arrested across 21 countries in Operation Serengeti III.
• •Over $105 million in illicit funds recovered, with losses exceeding $385 million.
• •Key operations included dismantling fraud rings in Uganda and illegal mining in Angola.

Operation Serengeti III, coordinated by INTERPOL, led to the arrest of 1,462 suspects and the disruption of 10,909 cybercriminal networks across 21 countries in Africa from June 29 to August 31, 2026. The operation recovered over $105 million in illicit funds and identified 65,929 victims, with financial losses exceeding $385 million. Key targets included online scams, ransomware, and business email compromise (BEC) schemes. In Uganda, authorities dismantled two transnational fraud rings, arresting 365 individuals involved in fraudulent investment schemes targeting Asian pensioners. In Angola, nine suspects were arrested for operating illegal cryptocurrency mining centers. Nigerian authorities arrested individuals linked to phishing operations that harvested 2.1 million email addresses. The operation was supported by private cybersecurity firms that provided intelligence on malicious infrastructure.