CBEX: EFCC, INTERPOL begin probe as Nigerians lose N1.3trn to ponzi scheme

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and INTERPOL have commenced a probe of the recently crashed online digital trading platform, CBEX, as it reportedly swept its investors funds amounting to N1.3 trillion.

The spokesperson of EFCC, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement. This comes as CBEX was reported to have crashed on Monday, with Nigerians taking to their social media to express pain.

The CBEX, operated by a group of foreign nationals in collaboration with their Nigerian partners with offices in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, and other parts of the country, collapsed, leaving their investors stranded as they were unable to access their funds.

Reacting to the development, Oyewale confirmed that the commission had already commenced an investigation into the scheme before its eventual collapse.

He explained that efforts were underway to arrest both the local and international operators behind the fraudulent scheme.

“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.