The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has confirmed the arrest of 11 senior members of various terrorist groups in Nigeria as part of a sweeping multinational crackdown on terrorism financing across Africa.
The arrests were made under Operation Catalyst, a three-month joint security operation that ran from July to September 2025, targeting financial networks and criminal cartels believed to be funding terrorism in six African countries — Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, and South Sudan.
In a statement released on Thursday, INTERPOL said 83 suspects were arrested across the continent, with Nigeria accounting for 11 high-level operatives from different terrorist organisations.
The agency disclosed that more than 15,000 individuals and entities were screened during the operation, leading to the identification of about $260 million in fiat and virtual currencies linked to terrorism financing.
“Approximately $600,000 has already been seized, while further investigations are underway to trace additional assets,” the statement added.
According to INTERPOL, the operation also exposed multiple financial and online networks being used to fund terrorist operations through money laundering, cyber-enabled scams, and the illicit use of cryptocurrency.
Investigators said the funds were often routed through multiple digital exchanges to disguise their origins before being converted into fiat currency.
The Secretary General of INTERPOL, Valdecy Urquiza, said the collaboration between African nations under Operation Catalyst marks a turning point in efforts to dismantle terrorist financing systems.
“This is the first time financial crime, cybercrime, and counter-terrorism units from multiple African countries have joined forces,” Urquiza said.
“By sharing intelligence, expertise, and resources, we can more effectively disrupt the financial flows that sustain terrorist networks and protect our communities.”
The Executive Director of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), Ambassador Jalel Chelba, described the operation as evidence of Africa’s growing capacity to jointly combat transnational threats.
“This joint effort to disrupt terrorism financing shows what coordinated action between member states can achieve against evolving security threats,” Chelba said.
INTERPOL also revealed that in Kenya, police dismantled a $430,000 virtual asset laundering network linked to terrorist recruitment, while another investigation exposed two suspects using cryptocurrency to recruit youths into extremist groups across East and North Africa.
A separate cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme defrauding victims in at least 17 countries, including Nigeria, was also uncovered. The scheme reportedly siphoned over $562 million, with part of the proceeds traced to terrorist financing.
Authorities have also issued a Red Notice for a key suspect accused of running a $5 million cryptocurrency scam used to channel funds into terrorist operations.
The operation, coordinated under the ISPA programme funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, was designed to strengthen AFRIPOL’s capacity to fight organised crime and terrorism financing across Africa.
INTERPOL said further investigations are ongoing to recover more assets and identify other individuals connected to the transnational funding networks.
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