NIGERIA: EFCC Vows To Recover Funds For CBEX Victims, Warns Against Future Ponzi Schemes

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has reassured investors affected by the collapse of the CBEX digital trading platform that their funds will be recovered.

The commission made this known on Wednesday as it intensifies efforts to bring the operators of the scheme to justice.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale stated that the agency had been monitoring CBEX before the recent outcry and had already flagged it as a potential Ponzi scheme.

“We were not waiting for Nigerians to call us before we started our work. Our dragnet is wide, our intelligence is very effective, and we were tracking that digital trading platform,” Oyewale said.

Trouble began for CBEX last weekend when users started reporting issues with withdrawals from the platform, which had promised a 100 percent return on investment.

By Monday, angry investors looted the Ibadan office of Smart Treasure, a subsidiary of the CBEX operation, located in the Oke Ado area of Oyo State.

Oyewale recalled that in March, the EFCC had listed 58 suspicious investment schemes and warned Nigerians to steer clear of them.

CBEX was among those flagged. He emphasized that the Commission had already profiled the platform before the public outcry began.

“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. We’ve been alerting Nigerians about ways to avoid these kinds of shenanigans,” he said.

The EFCC spokesperson gave firm assurances that investors’ funds would be recovered.

“No, it will be very irresponsible and unprofessional if the EFCC says you have lost your money and there’s nothing the Commission can do about it,” he noted.

According to him, the EFCC is collaborating with Interpol and other international partners to trace the people behind CBEX.

While he acknowledged that the recovery process might not be immediate, he maintained that the agency would not relent.

“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.