Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched an investigation into the alleged N1.3 trillion fraud linked to CryptoBank Exchange (CBEX), a digital investment platform that crashed on Monday, leaving thousands of investors stranded and unable to access their funds.
Gatekeepers News reports that CBEX, operated by foreign nationals in collaboration with Nigerian partners, promised investors 100% returns within 30 days through online trading.
CBEX restricted withdrawals on April 9, 2025, and demanded users deposit between $100 to $200 for account verification. It has changed its domain name multiple times between January 2024 and February 1, 2025, likely to evade regulatory oversight.
The EFCC said it is collaborating with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to identify and track down local and international perpetrators involved in the alleged scam.
According to Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, the commission had already been gathering intelligence on CBEX before its abrupt downfall.
“We had our intelligence before the incident. We were already working on it, but now that the scheme has collapsed, the major actors and their collaborators will be brought in,” he stated.
“We will ensure that we save Nigerians from all these troubles associated with Ponzi schemes. Don’t forget that we already issued an advisory — the 58 companies we alerted the public about. There are many more we are currently investigating.”
Reports suggest that over $847 million (approximately N1.3 trillion) has been swindled from Nigerian investors.
The EFCC Spokesperson added that: “We will do our job—where recovery is possible, we will recover; where prosecution is possible, we will prosecute.”
