Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Samuel Nartey George has challenged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over its portrayal of a major cybercrime operation in Ghana, insisting that Ghanaian law enforcement and intelligence agencies led the exercise with support from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the FBI.
Mr George said the operation, conducted under the name Cyberhunt, was a collaborative effort and cautioned against presenting it as an exclusively American-led intervention.
In a post on X on Thursday, October 8, 2026, the minister said the fight against cybercrime required international cooperation and warned that the FBI’s announcement could undermine future collaboration between Ghana and the United States.
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“@FBIDirectorKash, as Ghana’s Minister responsible for Cybersecurity, I believe the fight against cybercrime is transnational and requires collaboration. Ghanaian law enforcement and intelligence led the Cyberhunt operations, with primary support from the UK @NCA_UK and the @FBI you lead,” he wrote.
Mr George added that suggesting the FBI had acted alone in executing the operation did not reflect the collaborative nature of the exercise.
The minister’s comments followed an announcement by FBI Director Kash Patel on October 8 that the bureau had dismantled a suspected scam operation in Ghana under its global Operation Blackout initiative.
Mr Patel said the operation had identified nearly US$10 million in losses and 89 victims, while more than 130 people had been arrested or detained.
He also reported that more than 300 electronic devices had been seized during the exercise.
According to the FBI director, some of those detained were victims of trafficking who would be repatriated to their home countries.
“These scam compounds target American citizens and destroy lives – and this FBI is crushing them in every corner of the world. More to come,” Mr Patel wrote.
The disagreement over the public presentation of the operation comes amid growing cooperation between Ghanaian and American authorities in tackling transnational cybercrime and financial fraud.
In July 2026, Ghanaian national Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, was extradited to the United States to face charges over his alleged involvement in a romance-fraud network.
The US Department of Justice said Kumi, 31, was accused of participating in a network that allegedly targeted more than 80 elderly Americans and defrauded them of more than US$8 million.
He was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 and extradited on July 9, 2026. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
US authorities acknowledged the assistance of several Ghanaian institutions in securing his arrest and extradition, including the Attorney-General’s Office, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service, the Cyber Security Authority, the National Intelligence Bureau and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra.