Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 individuals in a coordinated international crackdown on West African cryptocurrency fraud networks. Hosted in London by the UK National Crime Agency, the operation involved tech giants like Meta, alongside crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance. Investigators identified over $11 million in potentially freezable funds, uncovered 117 forced-labor trafficking victims in Ghana, and took down 3.7 million fraudulent social media accounts.
Arrests in Ghana and Nigeria
- ▪Ghanaian authorities arrested 19 people in Sasaabi near Accra and seized 303 electronic devices, while Nigerian police arrested nine suspects in Delta State.
- ▪Law enforcement authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people during an international crackdown on West African cryptocurrency investment fraud and online scam networks.
Human trafficking at scam compounds
- ▪Authorities determined that some individuals initially detained at Ghanaian scam compounds were forced by criminal groups to carry out fraudulent activities.
- ▪Investigators in Ghana identified 117 human trafficking victims at scam compounds in Sasaabi who were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
London joint operation
- ▪The UK National Crime Agency hosted the joint law enforcement and tech industry operation in London from October 6 to 9.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice described the October 2026 London event as the first joint operation focused on West Africa.
Flagged funds and victim losses
- ▪Private-sector partners identified more than $11 million in funds potentially available for freezing during the West Africa scam operation.
- ▪Investigators in Ghana identified 89 suspected fraud victims whose reported losses totaled approximately $8.3 million during the operation.
Investigative intelligence leads
- ▪Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs exposed a large-scale peer-to-peer laundering network during the West Africa scam operation.
- ▪Participating organizations provided law enforcement agencies with intelligence leads on more than 30 suspected scam centers and identified over 380 suspicious online domains.
Binance involvement in fraud crackdown
- ▪Cryptocurrency exchange Binance participated in the U.S. Department of Justice joint crackdown to assist law enforcement with tracing suspected fraud and identifying suspicious accounts.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice did not publish a company-specific figure for assets traced or frozen by Binance during the October 2026 West Africa operation.
Coinbase assistance and investigation methods
- ▪Coinbase's Global Intelligence team connected public blockchain transactions with evidence from social media profiles, messaging accounts, and fraudulent websites to identify scam operations.
- ▪Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase helped trace illicit funds, support asset freezes, identify more than 65 active scam victims, and prevent over $415,000 in potential losses.
Tech platform account removals
- ▪Meta removed over 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages, and groups associated with West Africa-based fraud networks impersonating American and British users.
- ▪Microsoft took action against accounts suspected of supporting fraudulent activity during the joint operation, though it did not release overall removal figures.
International law enforcement operations
- ▪In late September 2026, enforcement operations prior to the London event resulted in additional arrests and the identification of 34 human trafficking victims.
- ▪In August 2026, coordinated INTERPOL operations into cryptocurrency investment scams resulted in 58 arrests and $2.67 million in seized funds across 22 countries.
Brooklyn District Attorney's Virtual Currency Unit
- ▪Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez established the Virtual Currency Unit in 2023 after finding that New York Police Department officers frequently lacked understanding of crypto fraud.
- ▪Alona Katz, chief of the Brooklyn District Attorney's Virtual Currency Unit, orchestrated an international takedown of cyber infrastructure supporting Russian-language crypto scams on October 6, 2026.
Cryptocurrency scam tactics
- ▪Scammers targeting Brooklyn's Russian and Ukrainian immigrant communities allowed small initial withdrawals before charging high fees or ghosting victims who tried to cash out.
- ▪Scam networks utilized methods including fake cryptocurrency investment offers, law enforcement impersonation, fake video call arrests, romance fraud, employment scams, and fraudulent asset-recovery schemes.
United States cryptocurrency fraud statistics
- ▪Cryptocurrency investment fraud generated over $7.2 billion in reported United States losses during 2025, representing 72% of all investment scam reports according to the FBI.
- ▪Reported United States cryptocurrency fraud losses reached $11.4 billion in 2025 according to the FBI, tripling over three years.
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