The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and INTERPOL have begun investigating the recently defunct online digital trading platform, CBEX, which allegedly embezzled N1.3 trillion from its investors. EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale revealed this in a statement on Tuesday,
Recall that the CBEX Ponzi scheme crashed on Monday, with Nigerians taking to social media to express their frustration and disappointment.
The collapse of the CBEX, which was run by a group of foreigners working with their Nigerian partners and had offices in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, and other locations around the nation, left investors stranded.
In response to the revelation, Oyewale affirmed that the panel had already started looking into the plan before to its eventual demise.
According to him, there were attempts to apprehend the local and foreign operators responsible for the fraudulent operation.
He said, “We are actively working to handle the CBEX situation. We will collaborate with other regulatory agencies to ensure that Nigerians are protected from this kind of scheme. We will do our job—where recovery is possible, we will recover; where prosecution is possible, we will prosecute.
“Overall, we will do our best. Additionally, there are similar frauds across the country that people are unaware of, and we are working to uncover them. We are on the local collaborators while we are partnering with INTERPOL to trace the foreign operators,”
“We urge the public to verify any investment opportunity with the CBN and SEC before engaging. The EFCC remains committed to safeguarding the public from predatory operators and ensuring a corruption-free economic environment,” the statement added.
According to cryptocurrency expert and security analyst Taiwo Owolabi, who explained the CBEX crash in a recent X space he hosted, the total amount of stolen investors’ funds in USDT to date is $847 million. CBEX entices its investors with a 100% return on investment in 30 days, he said.
However, other sources contended that the amount lost to CBEX was much smaller, indicating that at least $6.1 million has been deposited into the scheme’s fictitious exchange account.
Nigeria’s Security Exchange Commission Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama had previously stated that with the recently signed ISA 2025 by President Bola Tinubu, it is now illegal for any entity to operate an online forex trading platform or provide related services without first registering with the commission.
The SEC is yet to release a new statement directly addressing CBEX, however, its spokesperson, Efe Ebelo, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to cracking down on unregistered digital investments and Ponzi schemes.
Reports gathered revealed that residents of Ibadan, Oyo state, have looted and robbed the CBEX office in Ibadan.
As of Tuesday, however, the CBEX offices in Abuja and Lagos were still locked and secured.
Recall that in the last eight years, Ponzi and other get-rich-quick schemes have significantly been on the rise with Nigerians vulnerable to a number of these schemes including; MMM, twinkas, loopers and several others.
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