West Africa has come under the spotlight of United States authorities investigating cryptocurrency investment fraud, after a joint international operation that led to 28 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the removal of more than 3.7 million social media accounts, pages and groups linked to suspected scams.
The operation, conducted during the week beginning October 6, brought together US and UK law enforcement agencies, Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities, INTERPOL and major technology companies to disrupt online fraud operations targeting victims across international borders.
In Ghana, authorities arrested 19 people in Sasaabi, a suburb of Accra, and seized 303 electronic devices. Investigators also identified 89 victims of scams who suffered estimated losses of $8.3 million, while 117 suspected victims of human trafficking were identified and are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
The crackdown comes as cryptocurrency-related investment fraud continues to impose substantial financial losses on US victims. Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center show that reported losses from investment scams involving cryptocurrency exceeded $7.2 billion in 2025, representing a 24 per cent increase over the previous year.
Investment scams accounted for 72,984 complaints in 2025, with cryptocurrency investment fraud representing 72 per cent of the category. The figures highlight the financial incentives driving increasingly sophisticated schemes that use digital platforms to build trust with victims before persuading them to transfer funds into fraudulent investments.
“Transnational fraud demands a transnational response,” said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, US Attorney for the District of Columbia and founder of the Scam Center Strike Force.
She said the United States was working with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales to pursue cases on both sides of the Atlantic, adding: “Criminals are not hindered by borders, and neither are we. We will deploy our team wherever in the world transnational criminals target innocent victims.”
Technology companies participating in the operation reported identifying more than 30 suspected scam centres and removing over 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups targeting people in the US, UK and elsewhere. Their work also helped investigators identify more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds, according to the US Department of Justice.
The Ghana operation was led by the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Department and the National Security Service, with support from the NCA, the FBI and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The operation marks the first coordinated international disruption effort focused specifically on West Africa, extending a law enforcement approach previously directed at scam centres in Southeast Asia.
The campaign reflects Washington’s focus on dismantling the infrastructure behind online financial fraud, including the digital accounts, electronic devices and financial channels used to target victims and move illicit proceeds.
The Justice Department said its Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative would continue working with international law enforcement and private industry to dismantle networks responsible for cryptocurrency fraud and other cyber-enabled financial crimes.
