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Interpol, Afripol Smash $260m Terror Financing Network in Nigeria, Others
Interpol and Afripol have uncovered a vast web of terrorist financing across Africa, leading to 83 arrests in six countries and the seizure of $260 million in cash and cryptocurrency linked to organized crime and extremist groups.
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Codenamed Operation Catalyst, the three-month crackdown conducted between July and September 2025, marked the first coordinated continental effort to dismantle the financial pipelines feeding terrorism.
The operation brought together law enforcement agencies from Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
Approximately $600,000 has already been seized, with additional investigations underway to trace and recover further assets.
Tackling terrorist financing is particularly complex for law enforcement, as it often cuts across diverse criminal activities, including fraud, kidnapping for ransom, illicit trade, online scams, Ponzi schemes and the misuse of virtual assets.
These illegal activities can be linked to terrorism financing directly—when terrorist groups receive funds from such schemes—or indirectly, through money laundering or intermediary networks.
These connections highlight how different forms of crime are increasingly intertwined, underscoring the need for a united and coordinated response.
To tackle this multifaceted threat, participating countries shared intelligence on significant targets at the pre-operation phase.
This was supplemented by strategic cyber intelligence from INTERPOL and AFRIPOL with key data from private-sector entities Binance, Moody’s and Uppsala Security.
Valdecy Urquiza, secretary general, INTERPOL, said: “Operation Catalyst is the first time, financial crime, cybercrime and counter-terrorism units from multiple African countries have joined forces with INTERPOL and AFRIPOL to target the financing of terrorism. By sharing intelligence, expertise and resources, we can more effectively identify and disrupt the financial flows that support terrorist activities to stay one step ahead of these threats and keep our communities safe.”
Ambassador Jalel Chelba, executive director, AFRIPOL, said: “The success of Operation Catalyst lies in the synergy and convergence of efforts among national units combating financial crime, cybercrime, and terrorism. This joint endeavour, dedicated to disrupting the financing of terrorism across the African continent, illustrates how coordinated action between Member States, facilitated by AFRIPOL and INTERPOL, can effectively address complex and evolving security threats. Such cooperation stands as tangible proof that Africa’s law-enforcement community, when united, offers a decisive and appropriate response in the pursuit of a secure and stable Africa.”
Operational highlights: High-value global scams linked to terrorism financing
In one significant case from Angola, 25 individuals of multiple nationalities were detained following investigations into informal value transfer systems that were identified as connected to potential terrorist financing and money laundering.
The operation included the inspection of 30 commercial establishments, where police seized approximately USD 588,000, 100 mobile phones and 40 computers. Sixty bank accounts were also frozen.
In Kenya, a suspected money laundering operation using a virtual asset service provider was identified as having potential links to terrorism financing.
The scheme, worth approximately USD 430,000, involved 12 people, two of whom have so far been arrested. In a separate case in Kenya, two individuals were arrested for the online recruitment of young people from East and North Africa into terrorist groups.
The funds used for the recruitment and radicalization were traced through a cryptocurrency trading platform, back to individuals in Tanzania.
In Nigeria, the operation led to the arrest of 11 suspected terrorists, including high-level members of several terrorist groups.
One notable transnational case involved a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme, which claimed to be a legitimate online trading platform, affected at least 17 countries around the word, including Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria.
The scheme accumulated more than 100,000 victims around the world, with an estimated loss to victims of USD 562 million.
The investigations related to Operation Catalyst found that several large-valued wallets were potentially linked to terrorism financing activities. The case is still ongoing, with investigations currently in progress.
As part of Operation Catalyst, a Red Notice was also issued for an individual thought to be behind a sophisticated cryptocurrency scheme which scammed victims of approximately USD 5 million.
The scam redirected funds to multiple addresses and centralized exchange platforms to obscure the trail and convert the assets into fiat currency. Investigators believe the case exhibits several traits consistent with known terrorist financing methodologies.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 revealed that Artificial intelligence accounts for 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa and making attacks faster, more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect.
The report warns that the continent’s rapid digital transformation, marked by more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers in 2025, is being matched by an equally rapid evolution in cybercrime, while fragmented legislation and limited AI readiness among law enforcement agencies continue to weaken responses.
The 40-page assessment, based on survey data from 36 African member countries, said cybercrime has shifted from isolated criminal activity to an industrialised, borderless ecosystem powered by AI.
According to the report, East Africa has become a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, while business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams are widespread across Central and West Africa.
Southern Africa, it noted, has become an attractive target for international cybercriminals due to its high level of internet connectivity.
The report also highlighted the growing financial impact of cybercrime across the continent, revealing that losses have more than doubled since 2024, rising from 192 million dollars to 484 million dollars.
It attributed the increase largely to AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering attacks.
INTERPOL said online scams remained the most commonly reported form of cybercrime in 2025, with criminals exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI-generated content to deceive victims.
It added that 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the existence of scam centres, with the highest concentration recorded in Southern and West Africa.
The report further identified digital sextortion and online harassment as persistent threats, driven increasingly by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media.
According to data from TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners, about 600,000 sextortion incidents were detected during the reporting period.
Business email compromise schemes have also become more sophisticated, with AI being used to generate highly convincing email communications.
The report said Africa-based threat actors are increasingly targeting victims in Europe and North America using cyber infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
INTERPOL warned that the absence of real-time information sharing between banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies has created significant vulnerabilities in tackling financial cybercrime.
It said cybercriminals are no longer relying solely on stolen credentials but are now creating AI-generated synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated details.
These synthetic identities, the report noted, have been used to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, described cybercrime as one of the most significant criminal threats facing Africa.
“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.
“However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled,” he said.
Despite the growing threat, the report highlighted progress in strengthening cybersecurity across the continent.
It disclosed that 17 African countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation in 2025, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children.
The report also noted that regional capacity-building initiatives are helping to improve long-term cyber resilience.
INTERPOL said four major cybercrime operations conducted in 2025, Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, resulted in more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the recovery of over 100 million dollars.
To address the growing threat, the report recommended the adoption of standardised digital forensic capabilities, stronger cross-border collaboration, greater investment in AI literacy for law enforcement personnel and formal public-private partnerships to improve cybercrime prevention, detection and response.
The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 forms part of INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with data contributions from Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
Nigerian students will soon design, assemble, test and fly drones as part of their university education, following a partnership between Miva Open University and Abuja-based defence technology company Terra Industries.
The collaboration comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to develop indigenous capabilities in advanced manufacturing and defence technology, with both organisations seeking to strengthen Africa’s pipeline of deep-tech talent.
The partnership will see students gain hands-on experience in drone engineering and related technologies through dedicated labs and industry collaboration.
The partners will establish robotics, drone and virtual reality laboratories across Miva’s study centres, beginning with a pilot facility in Abuja.
Students will also gain access to industry-led workshops, research opportunities, internships and mentorship in artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity and autonomous systems.
According to the partners, Terra’s engineering teams will work alongside Miva faculty to integrate hands-on hardware training into academic programmes, exposing students to real-world engineering challenges and building industry experience before graduation.
Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries, said Africa’s technological future depends on developing engineers capable of building solutions for local challenges.
“The engineers who will build Africa’s future must learn by building. This partnership creates opportunities for students to work with the technologies shaping modern security, infrastructure and autonomous systems,” said Nwachuku.
Miva Open University said the initiative forms part of its commitment to experiential learning, adding that students will have the opportunity to “design, test and fly drones as part of their academic experience”.
The partnership builds on Terra’s expanding role in Nigeria’s defence technology sector. Earlier this year, the company signed a joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to localise the production of drones, robotics systems and cybersecurity infrastructure, supporting efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.
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