Trending 
A groundbreaking operation focused on combating terrorism financing and the illicit activities that support it has resulted in 83 arrests across six nations in Africa and the identification of 160 individuals of interest.
Operation Catalyst, conducted from July to September 2025, sought to uncover and disrupt financial transactions and schemes with ties to terrorism financing and its associated networks.
Among the 83 arrests, 21 were related to terrorism offences, 28 to financial fraud and money laundering, 16 to cyber-enabled scams, and an additional 18 to the illegal use of virtual currencies.
Throughout the two-month operation, which was collaboratively managed by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, authorities from participating nations examined over 15,000 individuals and entities of interest, uncovering around USD 260 million in both fiat and virtual currencies linked to terrorist activities.
About USD 600,000 has already been confiscated, with ongoing investigations to trace and recover additional assets.
Addressing the financing of terrorism poses unique challenges for law enforcement, as it often overlaps with a variety of criminal offences, such as fraud, kidnapping for ransom, illegal trade, online scams, Ponzi schemes, and the misuse of virtual currencies.
To confront this complex threat, the involved countries exchanged intelligence on key targets before the operation. This was enhanced by strategic cyber intelligence provided by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, along with critical data from private-sector partners such as Binance, Moody’s, and Uppsala Security.
“Operation Catalyst is the first time financial crime, cybercrime and counter-terrorism units from multiple African countries have joined forces with INTERPOL and AFRIPOL to target the financing of terrorism. By sharing intelligence, expertise and resources, we can more effectively identify and disrupt the financial flows that support terrorist activities to stay one step ahead of these threats and keep our communities safe,” INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said.
In a significant case from Angola, 25 individuals of various nationalities were apprehended following investigations into informal value transfer systems found to be connected to possible terrorist financing and money laundering activities.
The operation involved inspecting 30 commercial establishments, resulting in the seizure of around USD 588,000, along with 100 mobile phones and 40 computers. Additionally, sixty bank accounts were frozen.
In Kenya, a suspected money laundering operation involving a virtual asset service provider was discovered to have connections to terrorism financing, potentially.
This scheme, valued at about USD 430,000, involved 12 suspects, two of whom have been arrested to date. In a different case in Kenya, two individuals were apprehended for seeking to recruit young people from East and North Africa into terrorist organisations.
The finances used for recruitment and radicalisation were traced through a cryptocurrency trading platform back to individuals in Tanzania.
In Nigeria, the operation led to the apprehension of 11 alleged terrorists, including high-ranking members of several terrorist groups.
A prominent transnational case involved a vast cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme posing as a legitimate online trading platform that affected at least 17 countries globally, including Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria. This scheme resulted in over 100,000 victims worldwide, with estimated losses to those victims amounting to USD 562 million.
The investigations linked to Operation Catalyst have indicated that multiple large-value wallets may be associated with terrorism financing activities. The inquiry continues, and ongoing investigations are in process.
As part of Operation Catalyst, a Red Notice was issued for an individual believed to be responsible for a sophisticated cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded victims out of approximately USD 5 million.
This scam redirected funds to numerous addresses and centralised exchange platforms to obscure the financial trail and convert the assets into fiat currency.
Investigators suspect that this case displays several characteristics consistent with established methodologies for financing terrorism.
