Ghana Pushes Back After FBI Announces Cybercrime Bust Involving More Than 130 People
The FBI announced the dismantling of a major scam operation in Ghana, part of its global Operation Blackout, recovering millions and apprehending over 130 individuals. However, Ghana's Communication Minister Samuel Nartey George criticized FBI Director Kash Patel for allegedly downplaying Ghana's lead role in the joint "Cyberhunt operations," cautioning that such omissions could hinder future international cooperation against cybercrime.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reported that a cybercrime operation in Ghana identified nearly US$10 million in financial losses, 89 victims, and more than 130 people arrested or detained, alongside the seizure of over 300 electronic devices. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the figures on October 8, 2026, describing the operation as part of Operation Blackout, the bureau’s global campaign against scam compounds targeting Americans.
However, the FBI’s figure of more than 130 people includes individuals identified as trafficking victims who are expected to be repatriated, meaning not everyone detained is necessarily a suspected scammer. Patel said the investigation remains ongoing.
Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, subsequently challenged the way Patel presented the operation, insisting that Ghanaian authorities led the raids with support from international partners. George said the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) worked with the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service and national security operatives during a series of Cyberhunt operations conducted between September 25 and 28, 2026.
He identified the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the FBI as key partners, warning that portraying the operation as solely an FBI effort could undermine future cooperation against transnational cybercrime.
The dispute centres on how the operation’s leadership and international contributions are represented, rather than on the need to tackle cross-border fraud. Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority has also rejected any portrayal of the operation as independently conceived, commanded or executed by the FBI, saying it was led and coordinated by Ghanaian authorities with support from agencies including the UK NCA, the FBI and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Patel separately reported that Operation Blackout had resulted in roughly US$17 billion in seizures, hundreds of alleged scammers arrested and thousands of trafficked workers freed, although those wider figures reflect the FBI’s own account of the initiative. Ghana says it will continue working with domestic and international agencies as investigations into the latest operation proceed.