A coordinated international law enforcement campaign targeting cryptocurrency-based scam operations in West Africa has resulted in the arrest of 28 individuals in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as the potential restriction of approximately $11 million in crypto assets.
Global partnership moves against scam infrastructure
The operation, known as “Joint Disruption Week,” launched on October 6 at the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency headquarters in London. This effort brought together investigators from multiple countries, major technology firms including Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. These organizations collaborated to target not only individual scammers but the wider criminal infrastructure fueling these schemes.
Authorities dismantled over 3.7 million accounts, Pages, and Groups while sharing intelligence about more than 30 suspected scam centers. The campaign focused on disrupting the payment channels and organizational networks that allow fraudulent activity to persist.
FBI official Matthew Floyd emphasized that the goal is not limited to halting isolated scams but aims to dismantle the criminal networks behind them.
US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro credited intelligence provided by Meta as a catalyst for the campaign’s success, enabling law enforcement to uncover and target key players across the region.
Raids, arrests, and financial impact
Ghanaian authorities arrested 19 suspects and confiscated 303 devices, while Nigerian officials detained nine individuals and seized 53 devices. During the operation in Ghana, officers identified 117 trafficking victims who had been forced to participate in scam activities. These victims are now awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
Law enforcement has flagged around $11 million in cryptocurrencies as potentially subject to seizure, though these funds have not yet been confirmed as fully confiscated. Coinbase reported intercepting losses totaling over $415,000 and identifying more than 65 active victims linked to the scams.
FBI Director Kash Patel noted that investigators arrested dozens, seized hundreds of electronic devices, and identified at least $11 million in potentially freezable funds during the operation, stating these actions have had a direct impact on protecting lives.
Distinct challenges for West African criminal networks
Unlike the more centralized scam networks found in Southeast Asia, West African groups operate on a less concentrated and more dispersed model. Their activities include fake job offers, romance scams, police impersonation, and fraudulent recovery services, requiring law enforcement to target a wider array of accounts and payment routes.
There is also a noted risk of significant financial losses. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that crypto scams worldwide may have resulted in more than $17 billion stolen, with impersonation fraud increasing more than fourteenfold during 2025. However, the $11 million in flagged funds from West Africa remains proportionally small compared to seizures from similar operations in Southeast Asia.
| Region | Funds Restricted/Seized | Key Operations |
|---|---|---|
| West Africa | $11 million (potentially freezable) | Ghana, Nigeria: Joint Disruption Week |
| Southeast Asia | $938 million (seized) | Burma, Cambodia, Xinbi |
For additional context, the US Department of Justice previously targeted Chinese-led fraud operations in Burma and Cambodia, resulting in $700 million seized by April, and a further $52 million taken from the Chinese-language Xinbi marketplace. These sums, totaling around $938 million, significantly outweigh the current West African numbers, with the latter’s funds still categorized as “potentially” freezable.
Obstacles to fund recovery and compliance pressures
Scam proceeds are often layered through multiple cryptocurrency wallets and intermediaries, complicating the recovery process. TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, estimated that Chinese-language laundering networks processed more than $100 billion in funds during 2025.
Time is a critical factor in seizing assets. Recent studies of Tether (USDT) freezes revealed an average delay of more than two hours between the identification of illicit activity and the freezing of funds, allowing some crypto to escape. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has also highlighted issues for offshore exchanges, such as an instance in Nigeria where around $600 million was locked in a frozen wallet.
Mini dictionary: FATF (Financial Action Task Force), an intergovernmental organization that develops policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing worldwide—including those involving virtual assets and digital exchanges.
Major exchanges and stablecoin issuers, including Binance and Coinbase, are now under increasing pressure to quickly identify suspicious transactions, initiate reporting, and freeze funds. These responsibilities are raising compliance and operational costs across the crypto sector.
While faster intervention may help restore confidence and protect users, there is concern that more aggressive compliance could inadvertently block the transactions of legitimate users in the effort to stem widespread criminal exploitation of digital assets.
