Despite being accused of N1.2tn digital trading fraud that was reported to have affected more than 600,000 Nigerians, the popular CBEX platform, alleged to have perpetrated this fraudulent act, has resumed operations.
Reports have said that CBEX recently announced new withdrawal options in an attempt to bring back the confidence of investors in their platform.
According to a couple of traders on the CBEX platform who recently spoke to The Punch, the digital trading company resumed work quietly, and despite ongoing investigations into their alleged fraudulent practices, users are currently being allowed to sign up, trade, and take profit.
The traders have said that an insurance verification process and an external audit of CBEX’s financial records are presently ongoing to confirm the actual amount that went down the drain when the scheme ended last month.
The traders added that previous investors, several of whom have been denied access to their monies for weeks, will be able to withdraw funds from the 25th of June, 2025, when the audit by a UK insurance company will be over.
Recall that CBEX enticed investors with 100 per cent profit after one month of purported AI trading. The digital trading platform began to operate last year after the Corporate Affairs Commission finalised its official registration on September 25, 2024.
The EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering also registered the platform on the 16th of January, 2025, and at least 600,000 Nigerians were confident in a profit enough to invest in the scheme, only to lose about N1.2tn in total funds after the platform collapsed on April 14, 2025.
Stunned by the development and the uproar that followed, the EFCC immediately declared 8 Nigerians wanted for aiding the promotion of the deceitful program. Johnson Oteno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro, Serah Michiro, Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede were all named as major suspects, and just recently, a popular leader and trader on the platform, Adefowora Abiodun voluntarily showed up at EFCC’s office for interrogation.
SEC, a well-known regulatory agency that recently banned CBEX, has since come out to criticize the operations of the Ponzi scheme, urging Nigerian citizens against patronizing platforms that offer unrealistic profits for minimal trading. The agency further warned investors in the country to avoid being desperate with their quest to make more money than they already have.
However, despite all the warnings, The Punch reports that new findings have confirmed that several Nigerians are still being enticed by the fake promises of fast profits, with more citizens rushing to the platform in hopes of making quick money amid the harsh economy.
“People can now withdraw from the CBEX platform. The withdrawal option has been activated. Let me explain the withdrawal. The old account was wiped; you can’t take out funds from it yet. On the 14th of this month, the Artificial Intelligence on the platform traded 100 per cent, lost its trade, and wiped people’s money out.
But now, the promoters are saying that the platform and the CBEX application are insured, with verification of funds ongoing by the insurance company. Now, previous investors who have $1,000 as their capital would have to inject $100, and the former account balance would be restored, while persons with over $1,000 would have to put in $200 to bring back the account balance. And we have started seeing people put in these funds to get back their money, and are using it to trade now, as I talk to you.
According to the latest information shared, previous investors can only trade but not withdraw because the United Kingdom government is carrying out an audit on their financial account, which will be completed between 30 to 60 days. Hence, the reason why previous investors cannot withdraw their funds yet.
But from June 25th, you can now withdraw up to 50 per cent of your capital from the old account. For example, if you invested $1,000 and you could only withdraw $200 before, from the 25th, you can withdraw $400 from the remaining $800 capital, then from August 25th, you can withdraw the remaining $400 capital. But if you don’t do the verification, it won’t reflect in your account,” an anonymous source told The Punch.
