Binance, Coinbase join West Africa scam sweep with 28 arrests

Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people in a joint law-enforcement crackdown on West African scam networks tied to cryptocurrency investment fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Private-sector partners flagged more than $11 million in funds that could be frozen (flagged, not confirmed recoveries), while officials reported cryptocurrency seizures without disclosing their value.

• Binance and Coinbase participated alongside analytics firms Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs; Coinbase said it helped trace funds, support asset freezes and prevent over $415,000 in potential losses, identifying 65+ active scam victims.
• Meta removed more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups, and investigators received leads on 30+ suspected scam centers.
• The NCA said the operation identified 117 trafficking victims in Ghana awaiting repatriation to Nigeria; the DOJ called it the first such joint operation focused on West Africa.