The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered part of the funds linked to the N1.3 trillion fraud involving the collapsed digital investment platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX).
Speaking on the development, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede revealed that the commission has made significant progress in the ongoing investigation, including the recovery of a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency and the arrest of several suspects connected to the scam.
“We have made reasonable progress with CBEX. A significant amount of money has been recovered,” Olukoyede said, explaining that although the stolen funds were moved through cryptocurrency wallets, the EFCC successfully traced and retrieved some of them.
He noted the challenges faced in the investigation, pointing out that the fraudsters used non-custodial wallets—digital wallets with no Know Your Customer (KYC) identification—which made it more difficult to track the perpetrators.
“These non-custodial wallets have no user identity attached. From there, the funds were moved to various wallets in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe and Cambodia. Some of those wallets have now been blocked before the money could be fully dispersed,” he said.
While some suspects are already in custody, Olukoyede stated that others are still at large and have been declared wanted. He declined to disclose detailed information, citing the need to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
“We are still actively pursuing a number of individuals. This is a complex operation, and we don’t want to jeopardize it by revealing too much,” he said.
Olukoyede also warned Nigerians to be more cautious, noting that despite the collapse of CBEX, some individuals are still falling for similar schemes.
The CBEX platform crashed in April 2025, leaving investors with losses amounting to over N1.3 trillion. The collapse followed weeks of complaints about withdrawal issues, eventually leading to the disappearance of users’ account balances and access to the platform.
The case sparked outrage on social media, where victims voiced frustration and demanded justice.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later confirmed that CBEX was not a registered trading platform in Nigeria. In response, a Federal High Court in Abuja granted the EFCC permission to arrest and detain six CBEX promoters in connection with the over $1 billion investment fraud. The order was issued by Justice Emeka Nwite following an ex parte application by EFCC counsel, Fadila Yusuf.
