Operation Blackout: FBI Claims $17 Billion Seized

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. On Sunday, October 11, Kash Patel posted on X a report that would make any prosecutor pale. The FBI director announced "approximately $17 billion" seized, hundreds of arrests, and thousands of workers freed. Thus, Operation Blackout targets these crypto scam factories where trafficking victims defraud Westerners under duress.

The figure is impressive. However, the FBI has still not disclosed what it consists of.
Key points of this article:

• The FBI announced a massive seizure of $17 billion as part of Operation Blackout, targeting crypto scam complexes worldwide.
• A controversy erupted between the FBI and Ghana regarding the ownership of an anti-scam operation in West Africa, revealing international tensions.

Operation Blackout: Crypto Scam Complexes in the FBI's Crosshairs

Blackout combines raids, asset seizures, and domain name blocking. In August, for example, investigators searched for three days the 28 buildings of the O'Smach complex in Cambodia. The site spans approximately 200 acres. Then, in September, a team from the Justice Department helped dismantle 13 centers in Madagascar. Chinese criminal syndicates controlled them. Agents sifted through over 3,200 devices.

The scam targeted primarily has a colorful name, "pig butchering." Scammers fatten the trust of their victim for weeks, then bleed them dry through a fake crypto investment platform. Meanwhile, the prevention aspect, dubbed Operation Level Up, claims 10,406 victims warned in time. It estimates avoided losses at around $660 million. It has also seized or frozen $122 million in cryptocurrencies.

Remember this last figure. Because it is one of the few that the FBI details.

Ghana: FBI Claims an Operation that Accra Asserts

Last week, Operation Blackout struck West Africa. According to Fox News, a "joint dismantling week" coordinated from London resulted in 28 arrests. There are 19 in Ghana and 9 in Nigeria. The FBI announced more than 350 seized devices and at least $11 million in potentially freezeable funds. Additionally, Meta removed 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, and OpenAI provided its support.

In Accra, the official version diverges. On October 8, the Ghanaian cybersecurity agency issued a scathing statement, relayed by TechAfrica News. According to this text, the operation was called "Cyber Hunt" and Ghana led it. Furthermore, no foreign force holds its own authority to arrest anyone. The Ghanaian report states 8 suspects arrested and 120 people rescued, mostly Nigerians.

However, Patel spoke the same day of more than 130 people arrested or detained. He ultimately praised Ghana's role three days later.

$17 Billion Seized: Is the Bitcoin from Prince Group in the Mix?

The FBI does not provide a breakdown of its $17 billion. However, one file stands out. In October 2025, U.S. justice initiated the confiscation of 127,271 BTC linked to the Prince Group of Chen Zhi. Washington accuses him of running forced labor camps in Cambodia. These bitcoins were then worth about $15 billion. It was the largest crypto seizure in history, as we reported in our article on this record seizure.

If this stock is included in the Blackout tally, it represents the bulk of it. However, the FBI has neither confirmed nor denied it.

The calculation is enough to make one smile. At around $84,000 each, these 127,271 BTC are now worth nearly $10.7 billion. In short, a dollar tally backed by bitcoin shrinks or swells with market fluctuations. And this without any more scammers falling.

The complexes are migrating from Southeast Asia to Africa, and the raids follow them. As for Chen Zhi, he was eventually arrested in Cambodia. For the victims, the verifiable figure from Blackout remains that of Level Up: $122 million in crypto seized or frozen.

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