The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has successfully recovered part of the funds lost by Nigerians in the recent collapse of the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) Ponzi scheme, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede revealed in an interview with TVC News on Sunday.
While the exact amount recovered remains undisclosed, Olukoyede confirmed that efforts to retrieve the money are ongoing amid a complex process involving cryptocurrency.
Reports have estimated that Nigerians lost as much as N1.3 trillion to CBEX before its collapse in April 2025.
The platform, which promised extraordinary returns of 100% within 30 days through online trading, abruptly restricted withdrawals on April 9, leaving thousands stranded and unable to access their investments.
In a desperate move, users were then instructed to deposit additional funds, at least $100 or $200 for accounts exceeding $1,000, to regain access, deepening suspicions of fraudulent activity.
Speaking on the challenges of recovering crypto assets, Olukoyede explained that converting stolen cryptocurrency back into cash involves navigating the very channels through which the funds were initially moved.
“Even though in the crypto wallet, the same way the money was taken from them, there is no way you will get them in dollars. There is no way you get the dollars in cash without necessarily going through the same process,” he said.
Despite these hurdles, the EFCC has managed to reclaim a “reasonable amount” and is continuing investigations into multiple crypto wallets.
In addition to recovering funds, the agency has arrested several suspects linked to the fraud while actively pursuing others still at large.
Olukoyede urged Tanzanian businesses to present bankable projects with “impact and scope,” highlighting the seriousness of ongoing investigations and the agency’s commitment to bringing perpetrators to justice.
“We have met with people. People are talking. Like I said, we are not going to give out too much because we don’t want the process to be truncated. We are still after quite a number of people that we have declared wanted. We are still investigating a lot of wallets,” he added.
The EFCC Chairman shed light on the modus operandi behind CBEX, revealing that the scheme was largely orchestrated by foreign nationals who enlisted Nigerian collaborators to recruit clients.
“At that point, we do not know whether they knew what they were going into was fraudulent or not, but from our investigation, we are getting a clue to that. So, they registered the clients and they used them to create awareness.
In fact, they have seminars. We have the tape of their seminars and their conferences. They bring in professionals, people who are specialists in capital markets.
Yes, there was the case that they brought a PhD holder, a specialist in capital markets,” Olukoyede explained.
CBEX’s collapse has left many investors in limbo, but the EFCC’s ongoing recovery operations and arrests signal a firm response to the sophisticated scam that exploited Nigeria’s growing appetite for digital investment.
With efforts still underway, the EFCC continues to track down those responsible and trace the dispersed assets, aiming to restore confidence in the nation’s fight against financial crime.
