Kaspersky and Interpol Dismantle Criminal Networks in Africa

Operation Serengeti III, led by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in partnership with Kaspersky and international partners, resulted in the arrest of 1,462 suspects and the recovery of $105 million, alongside the disruption of 11,000 malicious networks involved in cybercrime.

The operation was carried out from June 29 to August 31, 2026, involving investigators from 20 African countries and the United States. It targeted a wide range of cybercrimes, including cyber fraud, ransomware attacks, business email compromise, cyber extortion, and digital fraud.

According to operation data, approximately 66,000 victims were targeted by criminal cyber networks, with estimated financial losses from their activities reaching $385 million.

Threat intelligence data and technical analyses provided by Kaspersky’s Threat Research Team supported law enforcement efforts by supplying information on the network infrastructure used in botnet and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, as well as data related to phishing and malicious sites targeting users in Africa.

Neil Gaiton, Director of Cybercrime at INTERPOL, stated that the operation underscores the importance of international cooperation in dismantling criminal networks, recovering stolen assets, and protecting communities from digital harm. He noted that these crimes transcend geographical boundaries and exploit technology to target victims on a large scale.

For her part, Yulia Slischkova, Vice President of Global Public Affairs at Kaspersky, emphasized that the cross-border nature of cybercrime makes combating it a shared responsibility, highlighting the company’s ongoing collaboration with international partners and the exchange of information and expertise regarding cyber threats.

Among the operation’s key outcomes were the dismantling of two cross-border fraud networks in Uganda and the arrest of 365 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in online fraud schemes related to investments and pensions, which targeted victims in Asia.

In Angola, authorities shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers and arrested nine suspects. In Nigeria, authorities detained a suspect involved in a large-scale phishing and business email compromise campaign that resulted in the collection of software credentials and approximately 2.1 million email addresses. Additionally, a separate investigation led to the arrest of a suspect in an international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging applications.

Investigations related to the operation are ongoing, with the aim of identifying additional suspects, tracing illicit proceeds, and analyzing the digital evidence collected.