Overview
INTERPOL announced on October 22, 2026 the results of Operation Serengeti III, a coordinated law enforcement action run from June 29 to August 31, 2026. Agencies from 21 countries took part, including Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and the United States.
Key Figures
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Malicious networks disrupted | 10,909 |
| Suspects arrested | 1,462 |
| Illicit funds recovered | More than $105 million |
| Victims identified | 65,929 |
| Reported victim losses | More than $385 million |
Notable Cases
- Uganda: Two transnational fraud rings were disrupted and 365 foreign nationals arrested. The rings were linked to investment and pension fraud targeting victims in Asia.
- Angola: Two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers were dismantled, nine suspects arrested and about 2,000 mining devices seized.
- Nigeria: Arrests were tied to a phishing and business email compromise operation holding roughly 2.1 million email addresses, and to an investment fraud scheme that moved more than $2.4 million.
- Republic of Congo: 30 suspects were arrested in a cybercrime operation.
Private-Sector Support
Group-IB supplied threat intelligence on phishing kits and botnets, and Team Cymru also supported the operation. Team Cymru's Jacomo Piccolini noted that "criminals cannot operate without infrastructure," underscoring the infrastructure-focused approach. INTERPOL cybercrime director Neal Jetton said international cooperation "remains one of the most effective tools for disrupting criminal networks."
Background
Serengeti III follows earlier waves in September–October 2024 and June–August 2025, which together produced more than 2,000 arrests.
Takeaways for Defenders
- The scale of business email compromise and investment fraud infrastructure remains large; keep MFA, payment-change verification and email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) in place.
- Indicator sharing between private threat intelligence firms and law enforcement is directly driving takedowns, so participate in sector ISACs where possible.