• Sources Reveal Digital Platform Comeback
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has intensified its manhunt targeted at persons of interest in the ongoing CBEX funds recovery efforts.
The anti-graft agency hinted that it has been able to trace stolen funds to at least four countries.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede disclosed this while giving an update on the CBEX funds recovery during a TV interview on Wednesday.
He added that the agency has been trying its best to recover funds lost in the over $1 billion Ponzi scheme.
According to the EFCC Chairman, the CBEX fund recovery initiative of the agency led to the discovery that the majority of the transactions were conducted in cryptocurrency and routed through wallets outside Nigeria’s jurisdiction.
He revealed that the agency has, however, frozen several accounts linked to the fraudulent scheme within Nigeria’s jurisdiction and had made significant progress in ongoing investigations.
He explained: “We have been able to block some accounts. We have been able to freeze some funds, which I will not be able to give you a figure, but some reasonable amount of funds, we have been able to freeze.
“I will not sit down and tell you that we are going to restore every victim. It will become practically impossible because quite a certain amount of money has been dissipated and not within our system.
“We have traced to three, four countries now. The principal parties behind the entire scheme… most of them are foreigners.”
Olukoyede added that three suspects are currently in custody and have provided “very useful statements.” He also confirmed collaboration with foreign counterparts to recover stolen funds and apprehend suspects.
Recall that Pan-Atlantic Kompass had reported that CBEX, which promoted itself as a high-yield digital trading platform, lured investors with promises of 100% returns on investment within just 30 days.
Operating primarily in U.S. dollars, the platform gained traction in Nigeria through aggressive social media campaigns and word-of-mouth endorsements.
Between July 2024 and its collapse in April 2025, it was reported that CBEX attracted an estimated 300,000 investors.
Investors on the platform were dealt a major blow on April 14, 2025, when CBEX abruptly shut down, disabling withdrawals and wiping account balances. Investors were further shocked when the platform demanded additional “verification fees” of $100–$200 to access funds, a move widely seen as a final attempt to extort victims.
While the EFCC has confirmed ongoing CBEX fund recovery efforts, a report emerged that the digital trading platform has quietly resumed operations.
Some sources have revealed that CBEX has resumed operations, allowing new users to register, trade, and withdraw profits.
The platform, which reportedly defrauded over 600,000 Nigerians of an estimated N1.2 trillion, is now said to be requiring existing investors to pay verification fees, $100 for accounts under $1,000 and $200 for those above, to restore their balances.
A source privy to the matter said withdrawal options on the CBEX platform had been reactivated, noting that new accounts could process withdrawals.
However, the source confirmed that funds from older accounts remain inaccessible for now.
The source stated: “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.”
As the CBEX funds recovery intensifies, investment experts have cautioned Nigerians against putting any funds in the dubious scheme again, noting that it’s usually a tactic deployed by fraudsters to lure their victims one more time and defraud them for the last time before going underground.
