83 Arrests in ‘Landmark’ Interpol Operation Hitting Crypto Terrorist Financing, Cybercrime in Africa

Interpol and Afripol have flagged $260 million in illicitly obtained crypto and fiat as part of a joint operation combating terrorist financing and cybercrime networks in Africa.

Authorities arrested 83 individuals in multiple African countries as part of Operation Catalyst, which has so far seized $600,000 of the flagged $260 million in illicit assets.

21 of the 83 arrests were related to terrorism, while 28 were for fraud and money laundering offences, 16 for online scams, and 19 for the “illicit use” of virtual assets.

Authorities conducted Operation Catalyst between July and September of this year, with the aim of identifying and stopping financial flows related to terrorism.

Targeting crypto crime

Equipped with data from such private sector collaborators as Binance, Moody’s and Uppsala Security, many of the individual actions that formed Operation Catalyst involved crypto-related criminal activity.

One specific example related to a crypto-based Ponzi scheme, which posed as a legit crypto exchange, and which stole a total of $562 million from over 100,000 victims in “at least” 17 nations (including Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya).

Several high-value crypto wallets involved in this scheme were also “potentially linked” to terrorism-financing activities, according to Interpol, which is still investigating the case.

Another case, this time in Kenya, centered around an alleged money laundering operation that attempted to launder funds via a legitimate virtual asset service provider, which hasn’t been named by Interpol or Afripol.

Again, this particular case had links to terrorism financing, with 12 people being identified as suspects, and two being arrested so far.

According to the Binance Investigations team, the crypto exchange helped provide information and resources necessary for tracking crypto flows.

A spokesperson for the team told Decrypt that the team “supported local law enforcement by providing operational intelligence and analysis, supported by our forensic tools and data-sharing, to help disrupt this major criminal operation which was a coordinated effort with authorities across Africa.”

Such cooperation is increasingly becoming the norm, with the Binance Investigations team adding that crypto-exchanges are now “one of the primary allies” for law enforcement agencies in the international fight against crime.

“Last year, we responded to nearly 65,000 law enforcement requests and served more than 14,800 registered officials from around the world,” the spokesperson said. “Our team also delivered 100 law enforcement training sessions.”

Crypto crime in Africa

This growth in cooperation is an indicator that cryptocurrencies are increasingly featuring in African crime and the financing of terrorism, something which is affirmed by Interpol itself.

“As crypto-adoption increases, so too do crypto-fueled financial crimes: in particular, the INTERPOL 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report highlighted that two-thirds of African member countries stated that cyber-related offences accounted for a “medium to high” share of all crimes, a significant statistic, given that in Western and Eastern Africa cybercrime was roughly 30% of all reported crime,” said an Interpol expert, speaking to Decrypt.

The expert noted that Nigeria in particular is experiencing a significant rise in crypto-related fraud, with Decrypt previously reporting on how the country’s EFCC chair had accused ‘corrupt’ politicians of hiding illicit wealth in crypto.

“Given the reduction in barriers to access cryptocurrency, criminals are increasingly able to adopt more sophisticated techniques to exploit cryptocurrency in other crimes,” the expert added, pointing to the use of stablecoins and coin mixers to obfuscate money flows in ransomware and extortion cases.

Speaking more generally, Interpol’s expert explained that, while crypto is “increasingly” used by cybercriminals, this doesn't mean that it’s the main form of payment or settlement for most cybercrime.

He noted that Interpol’s Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report highlighted that “many cases, in particular business email compromise cases, typically involve traditional bank transfer or fiat systems, while scams may exploit gift card systems.”