The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the agency has recovered a “reasonable amount of money” from CBEX, a failed digital investment and crypto trading platform that defrauded several Nigerians.
Speaking during a televised interview, Olukoyede revealed that the Commission had made significant progress in its investigations and has already effected arrests linked to the fraudulent scheme.
“We have gone far with CBEX. We have made reasonable arrests and recovered a good amount of money. But we are not releasing full details yet so we don’t jeopardize the process. Several suspects are still on the run and have been declared wanted,” the EFCC boss stated.
Olukoyede further explained the challenges encountered by the anti-graft agency in tracing the stolen funds, noting that the fraudsters exploited non-custodial wallets — which lack proper user identification (KYC) — making the funds difficult to trace.
“These scammers used non-custodial wallets, which makes it almost impossible to attach transactions to real identities. From these wallets, the funds were transferred to other wallets in parts of Europe, especially Eastern Europe and Cambodia, where they were further dispersed,” he explained.
According to him, some of these foreign wallets have now been blocked, and funds in them frozen, pending further investigation.
He also clarified that victims should not expect refunds in US dollars due to the complexities of crypto transactions.
“There’s no way we can retrieve the funds in dollars as they were not taken in that form. Retrieving them involves navigating the crypto ecosystem, and unfortunately, there is no shortcut,” he added.
Olukoyede expressed concern that despite ongoing awareness, more Nigerians are still falling victim to similar crypto scams.
“I’m told that some of these perpetrators are still out there, and people are still investing in their platforms. Nigerians need to be more cautious,” he warned.
The EFCC has urged members of the public to report any suspicious investment platforms and remain vigilant as the Commission continues its clampdown on digital fraud.
