The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced funds linked to the collapsed crypto bridge exchange scheme, CBEX, across at least four countries, highlighting the international scale of the alleged fraud.
During an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Wednesday, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede revealed that while efforts are ongoing to retrieve the diverted funds, achieving complete restitution for victims may not be feasible.
According to Olukoyede, numerous accounts tied to the fraudulent scheme have been frozen, although he declined to disclose the specific amounts recovered.
“We have been able to block some accounts. We have been able to freeze some funds, which I will not be able to give you a figure, but some reasonable amount of funds, we have been able to freeze,” he said.
He emphasized that recovering the entirety of the funds may prove impossible, particularly because many transactions were conducted in cryptocurrency and routed through foreign-controlled wallets.
“I will not sit down and tell you that we are going to restore every victim. It will become practically impossible because quite a certain amount of money has been dissipated and not within our system.
“We have traced to three, four countries now. In fact, the principal parties behind the entire scheme… most of them are foreigners, they are not within our jurisdiction, and you know what that entails.
“In fact, it took our impunity, our proficiency, to be able to even freeze some assets that we have done now. So, yes, we’ve embarked on that journey. Whatever we can get back, we will get it back and let Nigerians know. But we will not be able to confirm that we will restitute every victim. That may be practically impossible.”
The anti-graft agency has arrested three individuals in connection with the scheme. Olukoyede noted that they are currently in custody and have made significant disclosures.
“We have made arrests. Right now, we have about three people in our custody who have made very useful statements,” he stated.
He assured Nigerians of the EFCC’s commitment to pursuing the case diligently, disclosing that cooperation with foreign counterparts has yielded substantial progress.
“We have been so committed to this investigation because we have promised Nigerians. We have gone deep, we have gone far. We have established contact with our foreign counterparts, and we have been able to make some inroads.”
The CBEX platform came under scrutiny in April when users began reporting an inability to withdraw their investments.
Thousands of Nigerians are believed to have lost money through the platform, which the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed is unregistered.
Further legal developments saw a Federal High Court in Abuja grant the EFCC permission to detain six CBEX promoters over an alleged $1 billion investment fraud.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order after an ex parte application was filed by EFCC counsel Fadila Yusuf.
In addition, the EFCC declared a foreign national, Elie Bitar, wanted on April 30 in connection with the same fraud.
Bitar joins eight other Nigerians who had previously been declared wanted for allegedly promoting the CBEX scheme.
