-
Nigerians investing in the now-lost cryptocurrency platform Cryptobridge Exchange (CBEX) lost billions of dollars, and EFCC estimates that the EFCC is estimated to exceed N1.3 trillion after the platform crashes.
- The EFCC and SEC confirmed that CBEX had no license, acted fraudulently, and denied investors using its funds before closing operations.
As Nigerian victims continue to figure out their losses in the collapsed Cryptobridge Exchange (CBEX) program, authorities have begun to reveal the individuals behind quickly becoming one of the country’s largest Ponzi-style cryptocurrency frauds.
The crash occurred in early April 2025, and investors believed to have lost more than 1.3 trillion guilds of investors after the attempt to evacuate were blocked. The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is currently investigating and is committed to recovering funds where possible. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also praised CBEX for its illegal operation and has never obtained a license to operate in the capital market in Nigeria.
“CBEX failed to deliver on its subscriber’s withdrawal request and suddenly closed their body offices in amidst constant complaints,” the SEC said in a statement. It added that the promoters attracted victims through false marketing and expected to receive unrealistic high returns in the near term.
According to a survey by the Investigative News Foundation (FIJ), CBEX’s operations in Nigeria are linked to ST Investment Co. Ltd owned by 55-year-old British man Harold David Charles, an experienced investment expert.
The group operates on multiple fronts, including ST Technologies International, which owns the SCUML Anti-Money Laundering Certificate and is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The Nigerian faces of the program include Adefowora Abiodun and Oluwanisola Adefowora, who led the Abuja department of CBEX. At the press conference, Abiodun once said: “I introduced you to this platform again. It’s called the ST CBEX platform, we trade every day, we make money, we live a good life. We encourage our people… so you don’t need to live alone.”
CBEX also hosts workshops and recruitment drives in Lagos and other cities. At one such event in November 2024, team leader Victor Solomon encouraged attendees to “bring friends and enemies” to sign up, claiming that participants can earn a month’s salary in one day.
Also Read: CBEX: DG says SEC cannot recover lost N1.3TRN funds.
CBEX sponsors community events, including inter-school sports competitions at Maxfem International School in Lagos. Mr Olufemi Stephen Oguntola, the school’s owner, admitted that there was no due diligence before accepting the sponsorship of CBEX.
“I’ve never seen him [the sponsor] I didn’t see him again until the day of the game and after that day. ” said Oguntola.
He revealed that a friend introduced him to a friend from Ibadan sponsor Temitayo Oklet (also known as Temitayo Oke) paid a sponsorship fee of 400,000 N400,000. Friends also lost $10,000 in the program.
