28 arrested in West African scam crackdown, with Binance and Coinbase named as partners
Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 suspects in a coordinated operation targeting suspected online fraud networks. Investigators also identified 117 people believed to have been trafficked and forced to work for criminal groups. Their cases are a reminder that people found at suspected scam sites may be victims, not willing participants.
- Authorities arrested 19 people in Ghana and nine in Nigeria.
- Private-sector partners identified more than $11 million that may be available for freezing. No confirmed freeze or recovery total was reported.
- Authorities reported cryptocurrency seizures but did not disclose their value or the assets involved.
- Binance and Coinbase were named as participants, but no company-specific tracing or freezing figures were published.
Arrests and suspected scam locations
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) hosted a coordination effort in London from October 6 to 9. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the results on October 13. Neither release states the year for those dates.
In Sasaabi, near Accra, Ghanaian authorities arrested 19 people and seized 303 electronic devices. The NCA and DOJ said authorities identified 117 people as trafficking victims who had been forced to work for criminal groups. The NCA said they were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. The releases do not say what happened afterward.
This operation was separate from raids in Ghana in late September. The DOJ said raids across six locations led to arrests, the identification of 34 trafficking victims and the seizure of 129 devices. The NCA specified that those devices included 85 phones and 44 laptops.
In Nigeria’s Delta State, police arrested nine suspects and seized six laptops, 35 mobile phones and 12 routers. The DOJ said investigators also received information about more than 30 suspected scam centers. Those are leads about possible locations, not proof that every site was raided or that a crime took place there.
What the financial figures mean
The DOJ said private-sector partners identified more than $11 million in funds that might be available for freezing. That means further legal or financial action could potentially freeze the funds. It does not mean the money was frozen, seized or returned to victims. Authorities did not publish a confirmed total for any of those outcomes or explain how they calculated the $11 million.
Authorities separately reported cryptocurrency seizures but did not disclose the value or tokens involved. The releases do not say whether those seizures were included in the $11 million figure.
The DOJ also said Ghanaian investigators identified 89 suspected fraud victims who reported losses of about $8.3 million. Those are reported losses, not recovered funds. The releases do not say whether any of the 89 people were among the 117 identified as trafficking victims.
These figures measure different things: funds flagged as potentially freezable, cryptocurrency seized and losses reported by victims. None tells us how much money was recovered.
Companies and platforms targeted online infrastructure
The operation brought together law-enforcement agencies, technology companies, cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain-analysis firms. The DOJ named Binance and Coinbase among the private-sector participants, alongside Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs. It did not say how much either exchange helped trace or freeze.
Blockchain-analysis firms examine transaction activity recorded on public blockchains. Their work can help investigators spot patterns and find leads. But a wallet address alone does not prove who controls it or whether authorities can legally seize its funds.
Meta reported removing more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups associated with suspicious West African activity. Separately, the NCA said more than 1, 110 Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to information from Report Fraud, a UK service for reporting fraud, were disabled. It also said more than 380 suspected scam domains were identified and disabled. The NCA did not name who carried out each action.
Microsoft also took part, but the releases gave no comparable overall removal figure for the company. The DOJ called the account removals the largest-ever involving fraudulent accounts linked to scam centers in the region. That is the department’s characterization, and the releases offer no comparative methodology.
Removing accounts and domains can make it harder for scammers to reach people, while seized devices may give investigators evidence. Still, takedowns do not prove a network has been dismantled for good or that its accounts have not resurfaced elsewhere.
Fraud allegations and the trafficking dimension
The DOJ described suspected cryptocurrency investment fraud and impersonation schemes, including cases in which criminals posed as law-enforcement officials. It also cited staged calls designed to make victims think they were under arrest, followed by threats used to extort money. Understanding fraud and misrepresentation helps explain the allegations, but the releases do not establish the guilt of those arrested.
The DOJ also referred to “pig butchering, ” an investment scam in which criminals build trust with a target before steering them toward a fake investment. The label is grim, but the method is simple: a relationship becomes the bait, and the investment pitch is the trap.
The trafficking findings call for care in describing who was involved. The agencies said 117 people in Ghana were identified as trafficking victims and forced to work for criminal groups. Being found at a suspected scam site does not, on its own, show that someone willingly took part in fraud. Identifying someone as a victim, arranging repatriation and providing longer-term support are separate steps. The releases say only that the 117 were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
U.S. fraud figures offer context, not a measure of this operation
The DOJ cited FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center figures showing more than $7.2 billion in reported U.S. losses in 2025 from investment scams involving cryptocurrency, up 24% from the previous year. The DOJ also cited 72, 984 investment-scam reports in 2025, with cryptocurrency investment fraud accounting for 72% of that category.
These are national figures, not losses tied to the networks targeted in Ghana and Nigeria. They count reports to U.S. authorities. The DOJ said reported losses likely understate the real total because some victims do not report fraud. The figures show the scale of the problem, but not how much this operation prevented.
Key questions and answers
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How many suspects were arrested?
Authorities arrested 28 people: 19 in Ghana and nine in Nigeria. An arrest is not a conviction, and the releases do not report court outcomes.
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Was more than $11 million frozen or seized?
No confirmed freeze or recovery of that amount was reported. Partners identified more than $11 million as potentially available for freezing, but authorities did not say how much, if any, was ultimately frozen.
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What is known about the people identified in Ghana?
Authorities identified 117 people as trafficking victims who had been forced to work for criminal groups. The NCA said they were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. Their later circumstances were not reported.
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Did authorities disclose the value of the cryptocurrency seizures?
No. They reported cryptocurrency seizures but did not identify the assets or give a value.
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What role did Binance and Coinbase have?
Both were named as private-sector participants, but no company-specific tracing or freezing totals were disclosed. The exchanges have faced other market and regulatory developments, including Binance pair cuts and Coinbase regulatory clashes.
The operation brought together arrests, device seizures, online account removals and cross-border information-sharing. Those steps can disrupt suspected fraud networks, but the public results leave key questions open: how much money was returned to victims, what legal outcomes followed, and what long-term support the people identified as trafficking victims received.
