Scope and Results of Operation Serengeti 2.0
Operation Serengeti 2.0, conducted between June and August 2025, was a significant international effort that brought together law enforcement from 18 African nations and the United Kingdom. The operation targeted a spectrum of high-impact cybercrimes, including ransomware, business email compromise, and online investment scams. Its results were substantial, leading to 1,209 arrests and the dismantling of 11,432 malicious infrastructures that had targeted nearly 88,000 victims.
A key achievement was the disruption of large-scale illegal cryptocurrency mining. In Angola, authorities dismantled 25 illicit mining centers, arresting 60 individuals and confiscating mining equipment and illegal power stations valued at over $37 million. In Zambia, investigators took down a massive online investment fraud that promised high-yield returns, which is estimated to have defrauded 65,000 victims of nearly $300 million. Another notable action occurred in Côte d’Ivoire, where a transnational inheritance scam that caused about $1.6 million in losses was neutralized. The operation successfully recovered a total of $97.4 million in illicit funds .
This crackdown was bolstered by a strong public-private partnership. Cybersecurity firms such as Kaspersky, Trend Micro, and TRM Labs provided critical threat intelligence, data on malicious infrastructure, and specialized training to investigators, which was instrumental in the operation’s success.
Implications for Crypto Participants
Operation Serengeti 2.0 sets a clear precedent for future cross-border efforts against cybercrime and has several important implications. The model of deep collaboration between international law enforcement agencies and private sector experts is likely to become a standard approach for disrupting complex, transnational criminal networks.
For participants in the crypto space, the operation signals a landscape of increasing scrutiny. The scale of the seizures and arrests raises the operational risks for criminal networks, but it also highlights the need for heightened diligence among legitimate businesses. Platforms and treasury managers can anticipate continued regulatory attention on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls and the tracking of fund flows.
Furthermore, the focus on illegal mining in Angola underscores growing regulatory concerns about the environmental and infrastructural impact of unauthorized crypto-mining operations, particularly in regions with strained power grids. This suggests that oversight of mining centers may intensify.
In summary, Operation Serengeti 2.0 demonstrates the powerful impact of global cooperation. Its success not only deals a direct blow to cybercrime but also establishes a framework for future actions, indicating that coordinated, multinational crackdowns will remain a key tool for safeguarding the digital asset ecosystem.
