Interpol cybercrime sting in Africa leads to 1,200 arrests and $97m recovered

25 August 2025 , 20:34

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Interpol cybercrime sting in Africa leads to 1,200 arrests and $97m recovered

Authorities in 18 African countries, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, arrested 1,209 people suspected of cybercrime during an INTERPOL-led operation, the agency said.

The crackdown recovered $97.4 million and dismantled 11,432 pieces of “malicious online infrastructure.”

The schemes targeted nearly 88,000 victims and involved ransomware, online scams, and business email compromise, according to INTERPOL. In Angola, authorities seized IT equipment worth more than $37 million and shut down 25 crypto centers where 60 Chinese nationals were allegedly running illegal blockchain validation to generate cryptocurrency.

Thomas Brown

Head of Investigations