LONDON (IT BOLTWISE) – A major operation to combat cybercrime in Africa led to the arrest of 574 suspects and the seizure of around $3 million. The operation, coordinated by Interpol, targeted business email fraud, digital extortion and ransomware attacks.
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Interpol arrested 574 suspects and seized around $3 million in a coordinated operation known as Operation Sentinel in 19 African countries. This operation targeted three main forms of cybercrime: business email fraud, digital extortion and ransomware attacks. According to Interpol, these criminal activities in Africa have caused financial losses of over $21 million.
The initiative, conducted between October 27 and November 27, also resulted in the takedown of over 6,000 malicious links and the decryption of six different ransomware variants. Authorities were able to dismantle networks that exploited critical sectors such as finance and energy. These forms of cybercrime are identified as growing threats in the INTERPOL Cyber Threat Assessment Report 2025, highlighting the increasing number of cyberattacks on the continent.
A notable case in Senegal involved a major oil company that uncovered a business email fraud. Fraudsters had infiltrated internal email systems and posed as executives to authorize a fraudulent transfer of $7.9 million. Senegalese authorities acted quickly and froze the targeted accounts before the funds could be withdrawn.
In Ghana, a financial institution suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted 100 terabytes of data and stole approximately $120,000, causing significant disruption. Ghanaian authorities conducted advanced malware analysis, identified the ransomware strain and developed a decryption tool that recovered nearly 30 terabytes of data. Several suspects were arrested.
Ghanaian authorities also dismantled a major cyber fraud network operating in Ghana and Nigeria that defrauded more than 200 victims of over $400,000. The fraudsters used professionally designed websites and mobile apps to imitate well-known fast food brands and collect payments without delivering orders. Ten suspects were arrested, over 100 digital devices were seized and 30 fraudulent servers were taken offline.
In Benin, 43 malicious domains were taken down and 4,318 social media accounts linked to extortion schemes and scams were closed, resulting in 106 arrests. Cameroonian law enforcement responded quickly after two victims reported a scam through an online vehicle sales platform, tracing the phishing campaign to a compromised server and issuing emergency account suspensions within hours.
Neal Jetton, director of cybercrime at Interpol, explained that the scale and sophistication of cyberattacks in Africa are increasing, particularly against critical sectors such as finance and energy. These developments underscore the need for increased international cooperation and technological innovation to address the growing threat of cybercrime.
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