Court orders arrest of six over alleged $1bn CBEX crypto scam

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest and remand of six individuals linked to the now-defunct cryptocurrency investment platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), which is under investigation for allegedly defrauding Nigerian investors of over $1 billion.

Justice Emeka Nwite issued the arrest order on Thursday following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The accused—Adefowora Abiodun Olanipekun, Emmanuel Oku, and four others—are alleged to have promoted CBEX using a company named ST Technologies International Limited to lure unsuspecting Nigerians into investing their cryptocurrencies with promises of massive returns.

According to EFCC counsel Fadila Yusuf, the suspects orchestrated a massive scheme in collaboration with foreign actors, promising returns of up to 100% within 30 days.

The funds collected—primarily in USDT (Tether), a stablecoin—were funneled into digital wallets allegedly controlled by the suspects. None of the proceeds were kept in Nigerian financial institutions, complicating the investigation.

Yusuf stated that CBEX’s operations were neither registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor authorized to run investment schemes in Nigeria.

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While ST Technologies was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and held a Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) certificate, the EFCC clarified that this certification does not grant investment authority.

“The defendants lured thousands of investors, collected over $1 billion in cryptocurrencies, and then abruptly shut down the CBEX platform, making it inaccessible and cutting off all avenues for withdrawal,” Yusuf told the court.

She also revealed that victims were later asked to pay additional fees—$100 or $200—to “verify” their accounts before withdrawals could resume, a final tactic used to squeeze more money before the total collapse.

Justice Nwite, after reviewing the Commission’s application and supporting documents, ruled that the EFCC had established sufficient grounds for issuing warrants. He granted the agency’s request to arrest and remand the suspects pending the conclusion of investigations and potential prosecution.

The arrest warrant will also enable the EFCC to place the accused persons on Interpol’s Red Notice list, aiding international efforts to apprehend them.

In response to growing public outrage, the House of Representatives recently issued a warning to celebrities, influencers, and public figures to desist from promoting unregistered investment platforms, noting their roles in lending credibility to fraudulent schemes like CBEX.

The CBEX platform, widely promoted on social media and through affiliate marketing, collapsed on April 9, 2025, initially disabling withdrawals under the guise of “system upgrades.”

Many users assumed the outage was temporary—until balances vanished and requests for additional deposits were issued.

The CBEX debacle adds to a growing list of crypto-related scams in Nigeria, reinforcing the EFCC’s warnings about unregulated investment platforms and the dangers of unrealistic return promises in volatile financial markets