EFCC Recovers Funds From Collapsed CBEX Crypto Scheme, Arrests Suspects

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has announced that the agency has successfully recovered part of the funds lost in the recent collapse of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a digital investment platform that left many Nigerian investors devastated.

In an interview with TVC on Sunday, May 25, Olukoyede revealed that arrests have been made in connection with the CBEX fraud, and significant progress has been made in the ongoing investigation into the cryptocurrency scam that wiped out billions of naira in investors’ funds.

“We’ve made considerable progress with CBEX. We've been able to recover a reasonable amount of money,” Olukoyede stated.

He explained that although the stolen funds were in cryptocurrency, the EFCC was able to trace and recover a portion of them. However, he noted that converting the digital assets back to physical currency has proven difficult due to the complexities of cryptocurrency transactions.

“The funds were taken through crypto wallets, and they can’t just be converted back to dollars in cash without going through similar processes,” he explained.

Olukoyede added that several suspects have already been apprehended, while others are still being pursued.

“We’ve made some key arrests. We’re being cautious about revealing too much information so we don’t compromise the ongoing investigation. But we are actively tracking more individuals who are currently on the run,” he said.

He further pointed out that one of the major challenges of the investigation lies in the use of “non-custodial wallets” by the fraudsters — digital wallets that do not require user identity verification (KYC), making it difficult to trace ownership.

“We’re still tracking several wallets. These non-custodial wallets make it almost impossible to link funds to a person. From there, the funds were transferred to wallets in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, including Cambodia, and then dispersed,” Olukoyede explained.

The EFCC boss confirmed that some of the wallets containing undistributed funds have been successfully blocked.

“That’s how far we’ve gone. Sadly, I hear that some of these fraudsters are still active, and Nigerians are still falling for their tricks. It’s important that people start learning from these incidents,” he warned.

CBEX collapsed in April, causing investor losses estimated at over ₦1.3 trillion. Users first faced persistent withdrawal issues before the platform suddenly became inaccessible, and account balances disappeared without explanation.

The crash sparked outrage across social media, with thousands of affected users expressing anger, fear, and frustration. Despite the backlash, CBEX briefly resumed operations, offering new withdrawal options in an apparent effort to regain investor trust.

The EFCC has assured the public that efforts are ongoing to recover more funds and bring all perpetrators to justice.