The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared four individuals wanted in connection with an alleged $1 billion cryptocurrency fraud perpetrated through Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a digital trading platform.
The suspects, identified as Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede, were declared wanted on Friday.
The anti-graft agency made the announcement via its official social media channels, appealing to members of the public with useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects to come forward.
“The public is hereby notified that the persons whose photographs appear above are wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX),” the commission stated.
The declaration follows a recent order by the Federal High Court in Abuja granting the EFCC permission to arrest and detain six individuals linked to the fraudulent scheme. Justice Emeka Nwite granted the order after hearing an ex parte application filed by EFCC counsel, Fadila Yusuf.
In the application, the EFCC named six individuals — Olanipekun, Oluwanisola, Uko, Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim — as promoters of CBEX through their company, ST Technologies International Limited.
The suspects allegedly enticed unsuspecting members of the public with advertisements that promised unrealistic returns on cryptocurrency investments, as high as 100 percent.
According to the EFCC, the platform collapsed earlier in April when users could no longer access or withdraw their funds. The development led to a public outcry, with many Nigerian investors reportedly losing substantial sums of money.
The tension boiled over in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where angry investors stormed and looted the office of Smart Treasure (ST Team), an affiliate of CBEX.
The EFCC has urged Nigerians to be wary of online investment schemes that promise high returns without commensurate risk, warning that such platforms are often fronts for elaborate frauds.
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