The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) said it has traced the proceeds from the CBEX Crypto Bridge Exchange program to at least four countries, noting that full compensation for victims may be impossible.
Committee Chairman Ola Olukoyede revealed this when he made a political appearance on Channel TV on Wednesday, April 30. He revealed that the agency has frozen many accounts related to the fraudulent program and has made significant progress in the ongoing investigation.
“We have been able to block some accounts. We have been able to freeze some funds and I will not be able to give you a number, but some reasonable amount of funds we have been able to freeze.”
He explained that most transactions are conducted in cryptocurrencies and travel through wallets outside Nigeria’s jurisdiction, complicating the recovery efforts.
“I won’t sit down and tell you that we will restore every victim. It’s almost impossible because a certain amount of money has been dissipated, not in our system. We have found three, four countries now. In fact, the main parties behind the entire plan… are mostly foreigners.”
Olukoyede added that three suspects are currently in custody and provided “very useful statements.” He also confirmed working with his foreign counterparts to recover the stolen funds and arrest the suspect.
In April, CBEX users reported that they could no longer obtain funds, triggering widespread complaints. The Securities and Exchange Commission later revealed that the digital trading platform was not registered. The Commission announced that nine people, including foreigners and eight Nigerians, were announced for CBEX fraud.
