The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and INTERPOL have launched an inquiry of the recently failed online digital trading platform CBEX after it purportedly swept its investors’ cash, totalling N1.3 trillion.
The spokesperson of EFCC, Dele Oyewale, stated this in a statement on Tuesday.
Nigerians took to social media to vent their anguish after CBEX was reported to have collapsed on Monday.
When 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, crashed, its investors were left stranded since they couldn’t access their money.
Oyewale responded to the news by affirming that the commission had already started looking into the plan before to its final demise.
He clarified that attempts were being made to apprehend the local and foreign operators responsible for the fraudulent scam.
“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,” he stated.
Oyewale further warned Nigerians to exercise caution before committing funds to any financial entity not duly registered with regulatory bodies.
“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.
In the past 48 hours, Nigerians have responded to the CBEX crash on X.
Taiwo Owolabi, a security analyst and cryptocurrency specialist, explained the CBEX fall by stating that $847 million in USDT has been taken from investors thus far.
CBEX woos its investors with an offer of 100 percent return on investment in 30 days, he said in a recent X space he hosted.
Meanwhile, other sources argued that the amount lost to CBEX was significantly less, indicating that at least $6.1 million has been deposited into the fake exchange account of the scheme.
In his reaction, Steve Fred, a user on X, wrote on Tuesday:
“Are we not just fantastically stupid in Nigeria?
“Nigerians are as gullible as their leaders. How many times will they be scammed before they have sense?
“How can a company like ‘CBEX’ just appear from thin air and promise you 100 percent ROI in 1 month, and you begin to invest?”
Another user, known on X as Oku, reacting to the CBEX crash, said:
“The smaller the profit, the more I TRUST YOU.
“You have no business doing a business that promises you 50 percent to 100 percent ROI.”
Nigeria’s Security Exchange Agency spokesperson Efe Ebelo reaffirmed the agency’s resolve to crack down on unregistered digital investments and Ponzi schemes, despite the fact that the commission has not released a new statement about CBEX.
Nigerians were previously cautioned by the SEC to avoid unregistered trading platforms and Ponzi scams.
This comes as the commission’s director-general, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, stated that it is now illegal for any organisation to run an online forex trading platform or offer associated services without first registering with the commission under the newly signed ISA 2025 by President Bola Tinubu.
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The CBEX office was plundered and occupied by Ibadan people in Oyo state, according to The Intercept.
As of Tuesday, however, the CBEX offices in Abuja and Lagos were still locked and secured.
Remember that Nigerians have been especially vulnerable to a number of Ponzi scams during the past eight years.
Before it failed, it was Mundial Moneybox (MMM), in 2016.
Following MMM’s demise, Ultimate Cycler established itself in Nigeria prior to its demise, trapping investor monies.
Some of the Ponzi schemes that have robbed millions of Nigerians of billions of Naira include MBA Forex Trading and Capital Investment Limited, Twinkas, D9 Club, Famzhi Interbiz Limited, Red King’ Chinmark Group, Brisk Capital, and Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage.
