US and UK join forces to crack down on West African scam networks, with Binance and Coinbase assisting in fund tracing

On October 18, citing CoinDesk, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people in a joint operation targeting a West African scam network, involving criminal activities such as cryptocurrency investment fraud. The operation was led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), with participation from Binance, Coinbase, and blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis, Elliptic, and TRM Labs. Coinbase said it assisted in tracing illicit funds, supported asset freezes, and provided intelligence to investigators, identifying more than 65 victims still being scammed and helping prevent over $415,000 in potential losses.

It is reported that during the operation, Ghanaian police arrested 19 people and seized 303 electronic devices, while another 9 people were arrested in Nigeria. In addition, 117 human trafficking victims in Ghana are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria, and the participants also provided law enforcement with leads on more than 30 suspected scam centers. The U.S. Department of Justice said this was the first such joint operation specifically targeting the West African region.