The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced significant progress in its investigation of the massive N1.3 trillion Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) scam, recovering funds and arresting several suspects linked to the fraudulent digital investment platform.
EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, disclosed in a recent interview with TVC that the commission has traced and recovered a reasonable amount of the stolen funds, despite the complexities posed by the cryptocurrency nature of the crime.
“We have gone far with CBEX. We have been able to recover a reasonable amount of money,” Olukoyede said, noting the challenge in converting the stolen cryptocurrency back to cash.
“Even though it’s in the crypto wallet, the same way the money was taken from them, there is no way you will get it in dollars. There is no way you get the dollars in cash without necessarily going through the same process.”
The EFCC boss further confirmed that several suspects had been arrested, while others remain at large. However, he withheld details to avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations.
“We have made reasonable arrests. We are not going to give out much because we don’t want the process to be disrupted. We are still after quite a number of people we have declared wanted,” Olukoyede stated.
One major hurdle for the commission has been the use of non-custodial wallets by the fraudsters, which do not require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, making tracing difficult.
Olukoyede explained that the scammers moved funds through wallets located in Europe, Eastern Europe, and particularly Cambodia, where the money was further dispersed.
“We are still investigating many wallets. The wallets they created are called noncustodial wallets; in other words, no KYC. So, you can’t trace them to anybody.
“From the noncustodial wallets, they moved the money to wallets in Europe, Eastern Europe, particularly Cambodia, and from there, they dispersed the funds. We have been able to block some of these wallets where money has not been dispersed,” he said.
CBEX collapsed in April after users encountered repeated withdrawal problems, eventually losing access to their accounts and millions of Naira. .
The collapse triggered public outrage, with investors and social media users demanding justice for the staggering losses.
The EFCC has warned Nigerians to be cautious and learn from the CBEX experience as investigations continue.
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