The government is set to establish a $50 million FinTech Growth Fund to boost Ghana’s digital economy while supporting the fight against cybercrime.

This was announced by President John Mahama in a speech at the launch of the 2025 National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the inauguration of the Joint Cyber Security Committee, which took place at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Wednesday, October 1.

“We are establishing a $50 million FinTech Growth Fund to support Ghanaian innovators in developing digital solutions tailored to our local needs. This initiative is a key pillar of our Reset Ghana agenda, aimed at boosting the digital economy and strengthening our fight against cybercrime,” he said.

He continued that the fund forms part of his government’s Reset Ghana agenda, which seeks to build a strong and secure digital system.

“As we expand digital public services and mobile money usage, we must reinforce the systems that safeguard them. This is why under the Reset Ghana agenda, my administration has prioritised digital transformation as a key part of our national development policy. And cybersecurity is at the core of that transformation,” President Mahama said.

The President outlined four flagship digital programmes already underway. These include the One Million Coders Programme, which seeks to train young Ghanaians in software engineering, data analytics, and cybersecurity; and the Digital Jobs Initiative, a public-private partnership aimed at creating sustainable employment opportunities in technology.

He added that the new FinTech Growth Fund will support local start-ups to design financial technology solutions that can serve both Ghana and the wider African market.

“The FinTech Growth Fund will support local start-ups to design financial technology solutions that serve Ghana and can be scaled across the African continent. We are investing in innovation that reflects our realities and empowers our people,” he said.

At the same event, Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has confirmed INTERPOL’s report that sixty-eight suspected cybercriminals have been apprehended by the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service in a joint operation which led to the seizure of more than 800 electronic devices linked to online fraud and other illegal activities.

The Asawase Member of Parliament highlighted the government’s commitment to fighting online crime.

“Our cybercrime units successfully arrested 68 suspected cybercriminals, identified 108 victims, and seized over 885 electronic devices linked to illicit activities,” he said.

“This remarkable achievement underscores the unwavering commitment of the Government of Ghana to safeguarding our digital space, protecting our citizens and contributing to the global fight against cybercrime.”

He also highlighted that the Ghana security service is stepping up cyber intelligence and open-source monitoring efforts to track and neutralise threats before they escalate.

“In this fast-evolving landscape, proactive intelligence gathering and threat monitoring are essential. To this end, the Ghana Police Service is employing cyber intelligence, open-source intelligence techniques, and internal data-sharing platforms to identify, track, and neutralise threats before they escalate,” the Minister noted.

On Thursday, September 26, INTERPOL issued a statement a release shared by INTERPOL on its official website, the international security agency revealed that the operation, dubbed Operation Contender 3.0 and funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project, discovered that these criminal syndicates caused USD 450,000 in financial losses, with USD 70,000 recovered in cash.

“Ghanaian authorities arrested 68 individuals, seized 835 devices and identified 108 victims. Their investigations revealed USD 450,000 in financial losses, with USD 70,000 recovered,” excerpts of the statement revealed.

According to INTERPOL, the operation was targeted at criminal networks exploiting social media and dating platforms to carry out romance scams and sextortion.

“The crackdown targeted transnational criminal networks exploiting digital platforms, particularly social media, to manipulate victims and defraud them financially. Specifically, the operation focused on romance scams, where perpetrators build online relationships to extract money from victims, and sextortion, in which victims are blackmailed with explicit images or videos,” the statement said.

INTERPOL explained: “…For romance scams, the suspects had used fake profiles, forged identities and stolen images to deceive victims. The scammers extracted payments using a range of schemes, including fake courier and customs shipment fees. In sextortion cases, offenders secretly recorded intimate videos during explicit chats and used them for blackmail.”

On the continent level, these syndicates have caused an estimated $2.8 million in losses to 1,463 identified victims.

During the operation, police identified IP addresses, digital infrastructures, domains and social media profiles linked to members of the scam syndicates. These leads and the subsequent arrests also resulted in the seizure of USB drives, SIM cards, and forged documents, as well as the takedown of 81 cybercrime infrastructures across Africa.

The operation, which ran from July 28 to August 11, 2025, resulted in the seizure of 1,235 electronic devices continent-wide.

Acting Executive Director of Police Services at INTERPOL, Cyril Gout, highlighted the growing threat, stating, “Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams. The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm.”

He emphasised that collaboration between INTERPOL, its member countries, and private sector partners like Group-IB and Trend Micro was crucial to the operation's success, enabling enhanced data sharing and swift enforcement actions that led to the takedown of 81 cybercrime infrastructures.

“The transnational operation was strengthened by collaboration with private sector partners Group-IB and Trend Micro, resulting in enhanced data sharing and operational capabilities. The exchange of INTERPOL cyber activity reports facilitated swift enforcement actions from participating countries, underscoring the value of international cooperation in combating cybercrime,” INTERPOL highlighted.

Aside from Ghana, the operation also uncovered syndicates in other African countries such as Angola, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“In Senegal, police arrested 22 suspects, uncovering a network that impersonated celebrities and used emotional manipulation on social media and dating platforms to defraud 120 victims of approximately USD 34,000. A total of 65 devices, forged identification documents and money transfer records were seized during the operation.

“Police in Côte d’Ivoire dismantled a cybercrime ring that created fake profiles online to manipulate vulnerable individuals into sharing intimate images. Once in possession of compromising material, the criminals blackmailed victims, demanding payments to prevent public exposure. Police arrested 24 suspects, seized 29 devices and identified 809 victims.

“In Angola, authorities arrested 8 individuals and identified 28 domestic and international victims, primarily targeted via social media. Offenders used fraudulent documents to create fake identities, facilitating financial transactions and concealing their real identities while engaging victims,” the statement added.

According to INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report, released in June, “two-thirds of surveyed African member countries said cyber-related offences make up a medium-to-high proportion of all crimes.”

Other countries that participated in the operation include Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.

Ghanaian law enforcement officers, in partnership with counterparts from 11 other West African countries, played a pivotal role in an international crackdown on vehicle crime that uncovered about 150 stolen vehicles and led to the seizure of more than 75.

The joint effort, spearheaded by INTERPOL and dubbed Operation Safe Wheels, aimed at curbing the trafficking of stolen vehicles in the region.

It was executed between 17 and 30 March and saw law enforcement teams establish an average of 46 checkpoints daily, inspecting around 12,600 vehicles and cross-checking their details with INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database.

The operation, supported by INTERPOL’s SMV Task Force, unearthed the involvement of two organised crime groups and sparked 18 fresh investigations. It was part of Project Drive Out, a new initiative funded by the Government of Canada to tackle auto theft and the illegal spare parts market.

INTERPOL revealed that the majority of the vehicles identified during the operation had been smuggled from Canada, with others reported stolen in European countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Toyota was the most frequently recovered brand, followed by Peugeot and Honda. Smuggling was carried out via both land and sea routes.

In Nigeria’s port city of Lagos, for instance, customs officials discovered six suspicious vehicles, Toyota and Lexus models, hidden in freight containers from Canada.

Four showed signs of forced entry, and checks later confirmed that all had been stolen in Canada in 2024. Collaborative investigations between Nigerian authorities and Canada’s INTERPOL bureau are underway.

INTERPOL deployed nine experts, including a vehicle examiner from Canada, across several countries, including Ghana, to support on-the-ground activities. Their efforts proved vital in tracking and verifying stolen vehicles.

David Caunter, INTERPOL’s Director of Organised and Emerging Crime, highlighted the broader implications of vehicle theft: “Each year, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are stolen around the world, yet the initial theft is often only the beginning of a vehicle’s journey into the global criminal underworld.

Stolen vehicles are trafficked across the globe, traded for drugs and other illicit commodities, enriching organised crime groups and even terrorists.

INTERPOL’s SMV database is the strongest tool we have to track stolen vehicles and identify the criminals involved in this global trade.”

In 2024 alone, nearly 270,000 stolen vehicles were identified worldwide using the SMV database.

Participating countries in Operation Safe Wheels included Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.