Interpol gbab 83 for alleged terrorism financing for Nigeria and oda African kontris

Eleven Nigerians dey among di 83 pipo di International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) gbab for alleged terrorism financing through money laundering.

Inside one press statement, Interpol tok say dem arrest 83 pipo across six African kontris and dem don identify 160 pipo wey dey linked to di crime.

Dem start di operation between July and September under di Operation Catalyst to identify and stop financial flows and schemes wey dey connected to terrorism funding and dia support networks.

Out of di 83 arrests, 21 na for terrorism-related crimes, 28 na for financial fraud and money laundering, 16 dey linked to cyber-enabled scams and di remaining 18 dey related to di illegal use of virtual assets.

For di past two months, Interpol alongside authorities across participating kontris don screen more dan 15,000 pipo to uncover $260 million (₦36 billion) wey dey linked to terrorism-related activities and dem don seize $600,000 (₦890 million) in both fiat and virtual currencies.

Interpol Secretary General, Valdecy Urquiza tok say na di first time dia operation go target terrorism financing and di illegal activities wey dey support am.

"Operation Catalyst na di first time, financial crime, cybercrime and counter-terrorism units from multiple African kontris go join forces wit Interpol and Afripol to target di financing of terrorism," e tok.

"By sharing intelligence, expertise and resources, we fit more effectively identify and disrupt di financial flows wey dey support terrorist activities to stay one step ahead of dis threats and keep our communities safe," e tok.

Also Jalel Chelba, Afripol executive director, tok say di success of di operation na becos of di effort of all di nations wey come togeda to fight "financial crime, cybercrime, and terrorism".

"Dis joint endeavour, dedicated to disrupting di financing of terrorism across di African continent, show how coordinated action between Member States go effectively address complex and evolving security threats."

Interpol tok say e no easy to tackle terrorist financing particularly for law enforcement, becos several criminal activities, including fraud, kidnapping for ransom, illicit trade, online scams, Ponzi schemes and di misuse of virtual assets, go dey involved.

Kontris wey Interpol arrest suspects wey dey linked to terrorism related crimes

Dem arrest di 83 pipo wey dey linked to terrorism financing for Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, and South Sudan.

For Nigeria, operation lead to di arrest of 11 suspected terrorists, including high-level members of several terrorist groups.

For Angola, dem arrest 25 suspects of multiple nationality following investigations into informal value transfer system wey dey connected to potential terrorist financing and money laundering.

Angolan authorities seize $588,000 (₦870 million), 100 mobile phones and 40 computers.

Di authorities also freeze 60 bank accounts wey dey linked to di crimes.

For Kenya, dem arrest 12 suspects but na four be Kenyan nationals. Di suspects activities dey potentially linked to terrorism financing through money laundering operation and dem use virtual asset service provider to carry out di operations, according to Interpol.

Authorities tok say approximately $430,000 (₦640 million) na im dem don recova so far from di suspects wey dem gbab.

For Kenya, authorities also arrest two individuals wey dem say dey try recruit young pipo from East and North Africa into terrorist groups.

One notable transnational case bin involve massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme, wey claim to be legitimate online trading platform, affect at least 17 kontris around di word, including Nigeria, Cameroon, and Kenya.

Di scheme get more dan 100,000 victims around di world wey lose about $562 million (₦830 billion).

Interpol investigations discova say several large-valued wallets dey potentially linked to terrorism financing activities and investigations still dey go on.