DOJ says West Africa crypto investment fraud crackdown led to 28 arrests

Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people in a joint enforcement action targeting West African fraud networks tied to cryptocurrency investment scams, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement cited by CoinDesk. The UK National Crime Agency, which led the operation, said investigators also found 117 trafficking victims in Ghana who are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. Private-sector partners identified more than $11 million in funds that could be frozen. The DOJ described the effort as the first coordinated operation of its kind focused on West Africa, bringing together law enforcement agencies and technology companies to disrupt scam networks targeting victims in countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Coinbase, Binance, Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs were named as participants. Coinbase said it helped trace illicit funds, supported asset freezes and provided intelligence to investigators, while identifying more than 65 active scam victims and preventing over $415,000 in potential losses. Meta said it removed more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups linked to the activity.