The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made progress in its investigation of the massive N1.3 trillion fraud linked to the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) platform, according to the agency’s chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede.
In a recent interview with TVC, Olukoyede revealed that the EFCC has successfully recovered part of the stolen funds and made several arrests in connection to the CBEX digital investment scam that defrauded numerous Nigerians.
“We have made substantial progress with the CBEX case and recovered a significant amount of money,” he said.
Although the stolen assets were in cryptocurrency, the EFCC has managed to trace and retrieve some of the funds. However, Olukoyede emphasized the difficulty in converting cryptocurrency back into cash due to its digital nature.
“These funds were taken in crypto form, and retrieving them in cash is not straightforward. You must go through the same crypto channels to recover the value,” he explained.
Olukoyede confirmed that some individuals have been apprehended, while others are still being pursued.
“We’ve arrested a good number of suspects, but we’re keeping details minimal for now to avoid compromising our ongoing efforts. Many others have been declared wanted,” he added.
One of the major obstacles in the investigation is that the fraudsters used “non-custodial wallets,” which do not require identity verification (KYC), making it more difficult to trace those involved.
“These wallets don’t have any user identity attached to them. From these anonymous wallets, the funds were moved to accounts in Europe, mainly Eastern Europe and Cambodia, and then spread out. We’ve managed to freeze some wallets before the money was moved out,” he said.
Olukoyede also noted that some individuals behind the scam are still operating and that more Nigerians continue to fall for such schemes.
CBEX ceased operations in April after users began facing withdrawal issues and were eventually locked out of their accounts, resulting in total losses estimated at over N1.3 trillion. The incident sparked widespread anger among affected investors and on social media.
Despite its collapse, NAIJALOG reported that CBEX has quietly resumed operations, allowing new registrations, trading, and limited withdrawals in a bid to restore investor confidence.
Olukoyede cautioned Nigerians to remain vigilant, warning that some of the scammers are still active and that people continue to be deceived by similar fraudulent platforms.