DOJ, NCA and tech firms remove 3.7 million scam accounts in West Africa disruption week

The Justice Department reported the results of a week-long international operation targeting scam centres in West Africa. For compliance leads at payments firms, exchanges and platforms, the notable feature is the roster of private-sector participants that voluntarily acted on their own networks, and the explicit call for more proactive industry disruption. This segment covers who took part, what was seized, and the obligations the model implies.

• Industry partners reported removing more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups and sharing leads on over 30 suspected scam centres.
• Authorities made 28 arrests — 19 in Ghana's Sasaabi suburb and nine in Nigeria — and identified at least $11 million in potentially freezable funds.
• Ghana operation identified 117 trafficking victims pending repatriation to Nigeria and 89 scam victims with approximately $8.3 million in losses.