ABUJA, Nigeria — The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has arrested 11 suspected high-ranking members of terrorist groups in Nigeria as part of a continent-wide operation targeting terrorism financing networks.
Codenamed Operation Catalyst, the two-month joint mission by Interpol and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) led to 83 arrests across six African countries — Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
In a statement released on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Interpol said the operation focused on disrupting financial channels used to support terrorism and related criminal activities.
More than 15,000 individuals and entities of interest were scrutinised, resulting in the discovery of approximately $260 million in fiat and virtual currencies potentially linked to extremist financing.
Over $600,000 was seized during the coordinated effort.
“Of the 83 arrests, 21 were for terrorism-related crimes, 28 for financial fraud and money laundering, 16 were linked to cyber-enabled scams, and a further 18 were related to the illicit use of virtual assets,” the organisation said.
In Angola, 25 individuals of multiple nationalities were arrested following investigations into informal value transfer systems suspected of facilitating terrorist financing and money laundering.
Police inspections across 30 commercial establishments led to the seizure of $588,000 in cash, 100 mobile phones, and 40 computers, while 60 bank accounts were frozen.
In Kenya, Interpol said authorities uncovered a suspected money-laundering operation involving a virtual asset service provider valued at around $430,000, believed to have links to terrorism financing.
Two suspects were arrested, and a separate case involving the online recruitment of young people from East and North Africa into terrorist groups led to two additional arrests.
Investigators traced the funds used for recruitment and radicalisation through a cryptocurrency trading platform to individuals in Tanzania.
In Nigeria, 11 suspects described as “high-level members of several terrorist groups” were detained.
Interpol did not specify which groups the suspects were affiliated with, but said the arrests were part of broader intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism efforts involving African law enforcement agencies.
A related investigation also exposed a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme that affected victims in at least 17 countries, including Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria.
The scheme, which masqueraded as an online trading platform, defrauded more than 100,000 people of an estimated $562 million.
Interpol said several digital wallets linked to the scheme were identified as potentially connected to terrorist financing. “The case is still ongoing, with investigations currently in progress,” the statement read.
