The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered some funds and made arrests linked to the massive N1.3 trillion fraud involving the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) platform, the agency’s chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, revealed.
In a recent interview with TVC, Olukoyede said the EFCC has made significant progress investigating the CBEX scam, which defrauded many Nigerians through its digital investment scheme.
“We have gone far with CBEX. We have been able to recover a reasonable amount of money,” Olukoyede stated.
Although the stolen funds were in cryptocurrency, the EFCC has traced and recovered part of the money.
However, he noted that converting crypto back to cash is complex due to the nature of digital currency.
“Even though it’s in the crypto wallet, the same way the money was taken from them, there is no way you will get it in dollars. There is no way you get the dollars in cash without necessarily going through the same process,” he explained.
The EFCC boss also confirmed that some suspects have been arrested, while others remain at large.
“We have made reasonable arrests. We are not going to give out much because we don’t want the process to be disrupted. We are still after quite a number of people we have declared wanted,” he added.
One major challenge in the investigation, Olukoyede explained, is that the fraudsters used “non-custodial wallets,” which do not require identity verification (KYC), making it difficult to trace the criminals.
“We are still investigating many wallets, and the wallets they created are called noncustodial wallets; in other words, no KYC. So, you can’t trace them to anybody.
“So, from the noncustodial wallets, they moved the money to wallets in Europe, Eastern Europe, particularly Cambodia, and from there, they dispersed the funds. We have been able to block some of these wallets where money has not been dispersed.
“That is as far as we have gone. I even learnt that there are still some of these perpetrators and Nigerians are still falling victim. I believe people should learn from this,” he said.
CBEX collapsed in April after users experienced repeated withdrawal problems, eventually losing access to their accounts and millions in funds.
The platform’s collapse led to losses estimated at over N1.3 trillion and sparked outrage among investors and social media users.
Despite the collapse, It was reported that CBEX has quietly resumed operations, reopening registration and allowing trading and withdrawals in an attempt to regain investor trust.
Olukoyede warned Nigerians to be cautious, as some perpetrators are still active and victims continue to fall for similar schemes.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
