Law enforcement officials apprehended 28 individuals across Nigeria and Ghana during an initiative targeting criminal syndicates connected to crypto investment scams, the United States Department of Justice announced in a statement.
According to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the sweep additionally located 117 human trafficking victims in Ghana who were preparing for repatriation to Nigeria, while commercial partners pinpointed upward of $11 million in assets eligible for freezing.
Collaborating organizations also noted cryptocurrency seizures, though they withheld specific details regarding the total worth or exact tokens confiscated. Furthermore, the $11 million figure denotes capital marked for potential freezing rather than verified recoveries.
The NCA coordinated the joint effort uniting technology corporations and police agencies to disrupt operations aimed at individuals in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other regions. The DOJ characterized the initiative as the inaugural collaborative mission specifically targeting West Africa.
Cryptocurrency platforms Binance and Coinbase took part alongside blockchain intelligence businesses Elliptic, Chainalysis, and TRM Labs. Coinbase reported assisting authorities by tracking illegal capital, aiding asset freezes, and supplying actionable data to detectives. The exchange protected over 65 current fraud victims from harm and blocked more than $415,000 in prospective financial damages. Meanwhile, TRM Labs revealed it uncovered a massive peer-to-peer money laundering operation.
Within the locality of Sasaabi, situated close to Accra, local law enforcement detained 19 suspects and confiscated 303 digital gadgets. An additional nine suspects were taken into custody within Nigeria.
Technology enterprise Meta reported shutting down over 3.7 million Instagram and Facebook profiles, pages, and communities, the vast majority of which seemingly focused on deceiving UK and US residents via identity deception.
Collaborators additionally supplied policing agencies with operational intelligence concerning more than 30 suspected fraudulent compounds.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/14/crypto-exchanges-binance-coinbase-join-west-africa-scam-sweep-that-flagged-usd11-million.
