The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria has named four Kenyans suspected of involvement in the collapsed online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) that was a Ponzi scheme disguised as a crypto investment platform.
Nigerian authorities have notified the public that the four Kenyans being pursued are John Okiroh Otieno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro Kabera, and Serah Michiro.The EFCC also listed four Nigerians — Seyi Oloyede, Emmanuel Uko, Adefowora Oluwanisola, and Adefowora Abiodun Olaonipekun — linked to the scam.The collapse of CBEX, a fast-growing digital Ponzi scheme disguised as an investment platform operating across Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt has seen investors lose over US$840 million.
“The public is hereby notified that the persons whose photographs appear below are suspected foreign accomplices wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX),” EFCC published in a notice.
CBEX, which marketed itself as a crypto-powered trading platform offering 100% monthly returns, abruptly restricted withdrawals on April 9 before shutting down entirely. It sustained the illusion of profitability by using funds from new investors to pay earlier ones—a basic Ponzi scheme — and incentivized its users to refer others and offered bonuses and rewards based on the scale of one’s referral network.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria emphasized that CBEX was never licensed and that its operations are a criminal offense under the Investment and Securities Act, signed into law earlier this year. CBEX associated itself with a legitimate Chinese company that shares the same name but new reports indicate that this was untrue.
The EFCC announced that it will collaborate with the INTERPOL to nab both domestic collaborators and foreign nationals believed to be behind the operation. In Kenya, regulatory watchdogs and investigation agencies have not released any statement addressing the CBEX scam despite some Kenyans falling victim.