The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says individuals who invested in the CBEX digital trading platform that recently crashed would get back their money.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief on Wednesday, April 16, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, said the anti-graft agency has been receiving numerous calls from Nigerians seeking information and remedies regarding CBEX.
The digital investment platform CBEX has allegedly collapsed, with investors more than N1.3 trillion.
Recall that the office of Crypto Bridge Exchange Smart-Treasures, widely known as CBEX, located at Seliat Bus Stop in the Egbeda-Idimu area of Lagos State, was swarmed on Tuesday by aggrieved investors following the sudden disappearance of their funds from the CBEX trading app, while angry investors stormed the firm’s office in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, carting away various items.
CBEX was advertised as an artificial intelligence-powered cryptocurrency trading platform that allows users to buy and sell digital assets with promises of “100 per cent returns every month.”
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On Tuesday, PUNCH Online reported that the platform became inaccessible after users experienced persistent withdrawal failures, followed by sudden account balance wipes.
Oyewale said before the public outcry and calls, EFCC had profiled the platform and alerted Nigerians about potential ponzi schemes.
“We were not waiting for Nigerians to call us before we started our work, of course, we have been working,” he said.
“We were not beaten by what actually happened. Our dragnet is wide, our intelligence is very effective, and we were tracking that digital trading platform.
“We were tracking it. We profiled quite a number of things concerning the platform. You will recall that March 11th this year, the executive chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, had call to instruct us to alert Nigerians.”
The spokesperson recalled that about 58 Ponzi scheme companies were listed by the commission in March for Nigerians to be wary of.
“That shows that we are proactive and we have our hands on what is happening. So concerning this investigation, we were on it, it’s not that we didn’t know,” he said.
“We’ve been alerting Nigerians about ways and means how to separate themselves from this kind of shenanigans.
“Before the calls came, we were working. While the calls are coming, we are working; And even after the calls, we are still working.
“The essential thing is that, of course, we are going to recall some of the things that Nigerians should be looking out for, you know, concerning this kind of investment schemes and all of that.”
Oyewale further assured investors that their money will be recovered, though it may take time.
“No, it will be very irresponsible and unprofessional if the EFCC says that you have lost your money; there is nothing the commission can do about it,” the spokesperson said.
“We are already working with Interpol and our international development agencies to ensure that these people are brought to book.
“Investors are going to get their money back, and we are already working on that. Everything I’m saying is this kind of thing could have been averted.
“Be it as it may, it was not averted, we are not going to throw our hands out helplessly and say that there’s nothing EFCC can do about it.
“We are more responsible and professional than that. We have spread out our wings by talking to Interpol and the necessary agencies across the world to be able to bring all the actors to book, and investors will have their money back.”
Oyewale said the investments might not be recovered in the short term, but EFCC will not allow investors to lose their money.
“Investors, they’re going to have their money back. It might not be in the short term, but I can assure you that the commission, as the leading anti-corruption agency in Nigeria, is not going to allow investors to just lose their money laundering that,” he said.
CBN Warns investors against Ponzi scheme
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has consistently warned against investing in Ponzi-style schemes, particularly those offering high returns without regulatory oversight.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has long warned citizens about the dangers of Ponzi schemes, cautioning against investments that promise unrealistic returns.
Despite this, platforms like CBEX continue to attract large followings, often collapsing without warning and leaving chaos in their wake,” #Obobanj added.
CBEX not registered with SEC – Agama
The Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama has disclosed the CBEX digital trading platform is not registered with the Commission.
Agama who stated this during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday night also revealed that the Commission has also not received any complaints from the victims of the CBEX fraudulent activities.
He said: “For us at the SEC, our primary responsibility is investor protection, and investor protection stems out of registration and regulation.
“When a scheme is not registered with the SEC, it becomes illegal; and it is important that whoever is interested in investing in such a scheme must ask the question, ‘are you registered with the SEC?’
“If that is not the case, then it is automatically stated and known that such is an illegal activity and will not be condoned even by the SEC.”
He said the SEC was unaware of CBEX’s operation, adding that “often times with schemes like this, most people will always try to keep it away from the regulator and even keep it away from their friends, except a few groups of people whom they are interested in.
“So for us, at the SEC as we speak today, at this hour, we have not received any complaints from anyone regarding CBEX.
“If we had received any formal complaint regarding CBEX, the team at the SEC would have actually swung into action trying to get who is involved.
“However, we sympathise very much with the people, the victims, because they are Nigerians, and of course, at SEC, we will commence investigation as to where these people are, and make sure we hunt them down, because the law actually has given us the power to take them down, find them, sanction them by fining, and also sending them to the prisons for 10 years, that is the provision of the law.”
