Coinbase
Coinbase joins law enforcement to combat West African scam networks
The exchange's intelligence team helped block over $415,000 in losses during a London-based operation targeting fraud rings in Ghana and Nigeria
Coinbase spent a week in London doing something exchanges are rarely famous for: helping police catch people.
The company joined Joint Disruption Week, an international operation that ran from October 6-9, 2026, aimed at transnational scam networks operating mainly out of West Africa. The targets were concentrated in Ghana and Nigeria. The goal was simple to state and hard to execute: find the money, freeze it, and get it back before it disappears.
The results were substantial. More than 3.7 million fraudulent accounts and pages came down, 28 people were arrested, and 117 human trafficking victims were rescued in Ghana.
Who showed up, and what they did
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) led the operation alongside the US Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force. Private-sector partners included Meta, Google, and Binance, among others.
Coinbase’s contribution came through its Global Intelligence team. The group provided real-time blockchain analysis, tracking illicit fund flows on-chain as they moved. It also supported asset freezes, shared live leads with investigators, and worked to protect people being targeted.
The headline number for Coinbase: it proactively blocked more than $415,000 in losses for over 65 victims.
The broader tally went beyond Coinbase’s own figures. Beyond the 117 trafficking victims rescued in Ghana, investigators identified 89 additional scam victims with roughly $8.3 million in losses. The operation also produced leads on more than 30 scam centers.
The 3.7 million removed accounts and pages came from private partners. That figure reflects how much of modern fraud runs on social platforms, where fake profiles do the initial luring.
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Why West Africa, and why now
According to the findings from the operation, increased law enforcement pressure in Southeast Asia pushed some scam networks to relocate to West Africa.
Once relocated, these networks kept running the same playbook. Their tactics include fake investment schemes and impersonation, both designed to build trust before draining victims’ accounts.
Coinbase VP Leah Bressack framed the company’s involvement as a continuation of earlier work. She said prior disruptions in Southeast Asia proved coordinated action works. Now, as the networks try to reestablish themselves in Africa, she said the company is “following the money.”
“Following the money.” ā Leah Bressack, VP, Coinbase
The trafficking dimension deserves attention. The rescue of 117 people in Ghana is a reminder that scam centers often run on coerced labor.
The scale of the problem
The US DOJ reported that losses from crypto and cyber-enabled investment fraud reached approximately $8.65 billion in 2025, representing an 89% increase from 2023 levels.
Against that backdrop, the $415,000 Coinbase blocked is a small slice. But prevented losses are the best kind. Recovering stolen crypto after it has been laundered through multiple wallets is slow, uncertain, and often impossible.
What this means
The cooperation model matters as much as the results. Bringing Meta, Google, Binance, Coinbase, and law enforcement into one coordinated week compresses what might otherwise take months of subpoenas and back-and-forth into days.
The displacement from Southeast Asia to West Africa is the risk worth watching. Bressack’s comments suggest Coinbase sees it that way too, with the company tracking networks as they attempt to regroup.
For regulators, the operation offers a template. Public-private intelligence sharing produced arrests, rescues, and blocked losses within a four-day window.