The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has assured investors who lost funds in the troubled CBEX digital trading platform that their money will be recovered, saying, the commission is intensifying efforts in collaboration with international partners to bring the operators to justice.
This comes in the wake of widespread public outrage and panic following the crash of the CBEX platform, which had promised a 100 percent return on investment.
Over the weekend, many users reported their inability to access or withdraw funds, triggering a wave of frustration across social media.
On Monday, the situation escalated into chaos as some aggrieved investors reportedly stormed and looted the office of Smart Treasure (ST Team), an affiliate of the CBEX platform, located in the Oke Ado area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
Speaking on Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, revealed that the anti-graft agency had been monitoring the activities of the CBEX platform long before the current crisis erupted.
“We were not waiting for Nigerians to call us before we started our work,” Oyewale said.
“Our dragnet is wide, our intelligence is very effective, and we were tracking that digital trading platform.”
He noted that the EFCC had already profiled CBEX and warned Nigerians about its operations, along with 57 other suspected Ponzi schemes, during an earlier alert issued in March this year by the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
The commission, he added, had received numerous calls from concerned Nigerians regarding the CBEX platform, with many seeking information, reassurance, and clarity on the status of their investments.
Oyewale maintained that the EFCC was proactive in its approach and would not leave investors in the lurch.
“Before the calls came, we were working. While the calls are coming, we are working. And even after the calls, we are still working,” he said.
He criticised the fraudulent tactics of Ponzi operators and emphasized the need for Nigerians to be vigilant and informed about dubious investment opportunities.
“We’ve been alerting Nigerians about ways and means to separate themselves from this kind of shenanigans,” he stated.
Assuring the public of ongoing efforts to secure justice, Oyewale disclosed that the EFCC is already working with Interpol and other international agencies to track and apprehend the operators behind the failed scheme.
“It would be very irresponsible and unprofessional for the EFCC to say investors have lost their money and there’s nothing we can do. That is not who we are,” he stressed.
“Investors are going to get their money back, and we are already working on that.
“This kind of thing could have been averted, but since it wasn’t, we are not going to throw up our hands helplessly. We are more responsible and professional than that.”
He admitted that the process of fund recovery might not be swift, but reiterated that the commission remains committed to ensuring that those affected do not lose their investments permanently.
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