Three promoters of the now-defunct and allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platform “CBEX” have formally requested bail from the Federal High Court in Abuja following their continued detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a suspected $1 billion scam that targeted Nigerian investors.
The legal representatives for the suspects, Babatunde Busari and Justice Otorudo, appealed to Justice Emeka Nwite for bail on grounds of prolonged custody without formal charges.
The three promoters include Adefowora Abiodun Olanipekun, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim, who are among six individuals originally arrested on an EFCC motion dated April 24, 2025.
The EFCC alleges these individuals, through a company called ST Technologies, promoted the CBEX platform and defrauded thousands of Nigerians.
At the prior court hearing, EFCC lawyer Fadila Yusuf outlined that the suspects were arrested under a warrant issued by the court and have been remanded in EFCC custody pending investigation and prosecution under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Yusuf emphasized that the case involves foreign collaborators and a massive scam valued at over $1 billion.
She detailed that victims had deposited more than $1 billion into CBEX, which later became inaccessible, preventing withdrawals and exposing the scheme as fraudulent.
Justice Nwite found sufficient grounds in the EFCC’s application and granted the warrant of arrest and remand.
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During Wednesday’s resumed session, Babatunde Busari, representing Abiodun, urged the court to grant bail on “liberal terms,” noting that the suspect had been detained since April 24 without formal charges.
He highlighted that Abiodun had informed EFCC of his cooperation with investigations before the warrant was issued.
Busari also requested that the court compel EFCC to produce his client in court.
Justice Otorudo, speaking for his clients Otorudo and Ehirim, echoed calls for bail on liberal terms.
However, EFCC counsel Yusuf opposed the bail requests, arguing that the prayers were now irrelevant as charges had been filed.
“All defendants are facing charges relating to a $1 billion fraud,” she stated, urging the court to reject the bail applications.
Justice Nwite set June 30 as the date to rule on the bail motions.
The EFCC clarified that possession of a Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) certificate by ST Technologies does not legitimize its operations.
Although ST Technologies is registered under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act of 2022, this registration does not authorize it to provide investment services in Nigeria.
CBEX, operated jointly by foreign nationals and Nigerian partners, collapsed abruptly on April 9, 2025.
The platform promised unrealistically high returns, 100% within 30 days through online trading, but soon restricted withdrawals, causing investor panic.
Many users initially thought the disruption was a temporary glitch until their account balances disappeared.
In a troubling development, CBEX instructed users to deposit additional funds, $100 for accounts under $1,000 and $200 for those above $1,000, to regain access.
The company stated that deposits were required for “verification steps to ensure account authenticity,” urging users to keep deposit receipts to validate future withdrawal claims.
Despite these warning signs, new investors continued to join the platform, apparently convinced the issues were technical problems rather than evidence of a scam.
The CBEX collapse has left thousands of Nigerians stranded with frozen investments, and the EFCC continues its probe into what it describes as one of the largest cryptocurrency frauds in Nigeria’s history.
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