The International Criminal Police Organisation has arrested two suspects in Nigeria over separate cybercrime investigations, including an international investment fraud scheme involving more than $2.4m in suspected criminal proceeds.
The arrests were part of Operation Serengeti III, a multinational cybercrime enforcement exercise conducted between June 29 and August 31, 2026, with law enforcement agencies from 21 countries participating.
According to a statement published on INTERPOL’s website, one of the Nigerian investigations led to the arrest of a suspect linked to a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation.
The operation allegedly involved the collection of software credentials and the accumulation of approximately 2.1 million email addresses.
Investigators also recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been bought with proceeds from criminal activities.
In a separate case, Nigerian authorities arrested another suspect over an international investment fraud scheme allegedly promoted through messaging applications.
Financial investigations traced more than $2.4m in suspected criminal proceeds to the scheme, with a significant portion allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.
The statement did not disclose the identities of the two suspects.
The statement read, “In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect behind a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested software credentials and amassed approximately 2.1 million email addresses.
Investigators also recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been purchased with criminal proceeds.
“A separate Nigerian investigation targeted an international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps, leading to the arrest of a suspect.
Financial investigations revealed the movement of more than $2.4m in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which was laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.”
INTERPOL said Operation Serengeti III focused on various cyber-enabled crimes, including online fraud, ransomware attacks, business email compromise, digital extortion and internet scams.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 1,462 suspects across the participating countries, the disruption of 10,909 malicious networks and the recovery of more than $105m in illicit funds.
Authorities also identified 65,929 people targeted by cybercriminal networks, while financial investigations associated the criminal activities with losses exceeding $385m.
Private-sector partners supported the operation by providing intelligence, technical analysis and operational expertise to help law enforcement agencies identify suspects, trace criminal networks and advance investigations.
INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Neal Jetton, said criminal networks were increasingly exploiting technology to target victims across national borders.
“Operation Serengeti III reinforces a clear message: while cybercrime is increasingly borderless, international cooperation remains one of the most effective tools for disrupting criminal networks, recovering criminal assets and protecting communities from digital harm,” he said.
INTERPOL added that investigations arising from the operation were still ongoing, with authorities working to identify additional suspects, trace illicit funds and analyse digital evidence recovered during the exercise.
Nigeria participated in the operation alongside Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
