How thousands of Nigerians lost N1.3trn to scam
Thousands of Nigerians were thrown into tears yesterday following the realization that the funds they invested in CBEX, a digital asset trading platform, reportedly amounting to N1.3trillion, was nowhere to be found. The digital trading platform which boasted of giving investors 100 per cent Return On Investment in 30 days crashed on Monday, after the […]
cbex
Thousands of Nigerians were thrown into tears yesterday following the realization that the funds they invested in CBEX, a digital asset trading platform, reportedly amounting to N1.3trillion, was nowhere to be found.
The digital trading platform which boasted of giving investors 100 per cent Return On Investment in 30 days crashed on Monday, after the money in their investors’ wallets vanished.
Daily Trust reports that there were signs that the platform had crashed since Friday, when it postponed investors’ withdrawals.
But CBEX operators later emerged and gave investors the lifeline of $2,000 for $200 verification and $1,000 for $100 verification with an assurance that withdrawal would resume on Monday (April 14, 2025).
- Bandits kill former Zamfara LG administrator, 4 others, abduct many
- Ex-NASENI boss donates textbooks to institutions in Nasarawa
However, their hopes were dashed when their savings were wiped out from the investors’ account.
This is the latest scheme in a series that Nigerians would fall victims to in the last 10 years, with people desirous of doubling their savings losing billions of naira despite repeated warnings from the regulatory authorities against investing in Ponzi schemes.
From MMM Nigeria, Get Help Worldwide, Crowd Rising, Donation Hub, Lion’s Share, 6Dollars Investment and now to CBEX, investment in Ponzi schemes have ended in tears and lamentations.
Tale of woes
After investors’ wallets vanished, many Nigerians cried uncontrollably, lamenting their losses. The blogosphere (social media space) has been awash with tales of woes since Monday, with lamentation peaking on Tuesday.
‘I have lost my house rent’
A victim, Oni Tolulope, who spoke with our correspondent, lamented how she invested her house rent in the project, saying she is on the verge of being homeless.
She said, “I heard it’s been operating for two years…my friend introduced me to it last year, but I was unwilling.
“Fast forward to this February, I thought about the many things I had to do with little or no money and since CBEX was still active and running, I felt I should invest my little savings and watch it grow to cover my expenses (e.g rent). It did grow, and just when I hit my target prepared to withdraw, my entire plan crashed with CBEX wiping my balance out with one trading signal. Now, I am back to zero funds.”
‘I almost invested my wedding funds’
A young man who just wedded told Daily Trust that he almost invested his wedding funds in the platform in December.
“It started like this; last year December was my wedding but approaching December, at some point, I was broke and money wasn’t coming. So I decided to invest what I had saved up for the wedding in CBEX.
“This was after much pressure or should I say persuasion from a brother who invested a lot of money. I made up my mind that I was going to give it a try, but thank God I didn’t.
“The temptation to do CBEX was so much on me because many who did it around me were cashing out big,” he told Daily Trust.
Many Nigerians who lost their money also took to social media to lament their losses.
An X user @naijabanker90 said, “CBEX wiped out my dad’s retirement savings. Man was just looking for a small investment to grow his pension. This country will humble you.”
@ChizzyCoded also said that “Used CBEx for three months. Everything seemed legit till one morning I woke up and couldn’t access my dashboard. Their support went ghost”
@DrealBlaq who lost N150,000 said, “My guy warned me about CBEx, but greed didn’t let me hear a word. Lost150k. Lesson learnt the hard way”.
@sheddycoal: “My mom did this without telling me; investing 300 dollars …now she has not been herself and my heart is very heavy”.
On Facebook, Sandra M. Okoro posted that, “My uncle’s friend introduced him to CBEX. He put in N500,000 hoping for monthly returns. Three months later, nothing. The person who introduced him stopped picking calls”.
Felix Adebayo said, “CBEx looked so promising at first. I even encouraged my church group to try it. Now I feel guilty because most of us didn’t get our capital back.”
On Instagram, @iam_linda_gold posted that, “If you’re still putting money in CBEX, just know you’re on your own. My colleague cried at work after she realised she was scammed.”
@mrlagosvibes said “CBEx sweet-talked all of us with fake testimonials. My cousin’s business almost collapsed after investing her working capital.”
Investors loot CBEX office in Ibadan
The crash has sparked a wave of protests and looting across several states. One of the most notable incidents occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State, where the CBEX office located in Oke-Ado was looted by angry investors and residents on Monday night.
Witnesses reported that a large crowd broke into the building, destroyed equipment and carted away office property.
Videos of the incident have since gone viral on social media, showing looters dismantling furniture and carrying items out of the premises. The looting extended to nearby shops and buildings before security operatives arrived to disperse the crowd.
How Hong Kong raised red flag about CBEX
The crash of the CBEX scheme has raised questions about the ability of the regulatory authorities to curb the rising wave of Ponzi schemes.
In April 2024, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a warning against CBEX Group and Bitget Pro, for suspected virtual asset-related fraudulent activities.
The SFC reported that investors faced difficulties with withdrawals and unauthorised transactions. The commission also noted that CBEX falsely claimed to hold digital asset licenses in Canada and Japan.
A litmus test for SEC?
Daily Trust reports that CBEX crashed a few weeks after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the newly enacted Investments and Securities Act, 2025 (ISA 2025).
The law empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the apex regulator of the capital market, to register and regulate securities exchanges, commodity exchanges, virtual and digital asset exchanges, and other market venues.
The law makes it illegal to operate digital asset exchanges or online foreign exchange trading platforms without formal registration with the Commission. The Commission had noted that, “under the newly enacted legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now empowered to regulate a broader scope of market activities”.
Earlier, the commission had said promoters and operators of Ponzi schemes, under the new law, face a jail term of 10 years or more.
The SEC further explained that the law stipulates a minimum fine of N20 million for anyone operating a Ponzi scheme in Nigeria.
“N20 million is not the entire penalty or the entire money that will be charged or sanctioned to any suspecting or any accused capital market or non-capital market operator. It is just part of the penalties that will be meted against such persons,” Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, had explained.
Why Nigerians invest in Ponzi schemes – Economist
Professor of Economics, Ndubisi Nwokoma, said many Nigerians have developed a liking for investing in informal Ponzi schemes despite the high risk because of the distrust for the formal financial system.
He said many Nigerians want an investment scheme that guarantees quicker and faster return on investment.
Nwokoma, who is a former Director of the Center for Economic Policy Analysis and Research at the University of Lagos said, “I’m sure everyone including you who wants to have his money grow fast will take the opportunity. It’s just that people don’t look at the risk element.
“The charges by the banks are quite enormous and their returns are very little. Some people don’t even want to use the banks these days; some want to receive cash payment because for any transaction that takes place, the receiver usually gets less than the value.
“So, a number of times, people want you to pay them in cash and then if your money is in the bank, the deposit rate is very low.
“So, at the end of the day if people see any promise to get their money to grow faster, they fall for it. This is because the formal channel is not rewarding you; instead, it is taking from you. When the formal channel does not give you what you think you should get, people now look for informal channels.
“Another thing is that some people have succeeded through that informal channel, so they feel this man did it and he got money, so I can do the same as well.”
‘We need functional financial system’
He added that Nigeria must strengthen its formal financial and investment systems to make them functional and more rewarding.
He said, “The way you can avoid it is by making sure you have a formal functional financial system where there are rules that guide the game. For instance, enforcement of contracts in the system is key. You know you can enter into a transaction with somebody and when it comes to consummation of the contract, everyone plays along and you have a functional judiciary that can actually adjudicate if there are issues about conflict of contract.
“So, if the system has a functional economy where you operate the market system, there must be a functional judiciary for the enforcement of contracts. When there is a lack of trust in the formal system, people resort to the informal, but informal comes with plenty of risks. Some people go through that informal and they succeed but they are a minor proportion compared to those who fail.”
Financial education is key – Expert
A financial expert, Ayokunle Olubunmi, said the development shows there is still a lot to do pertaining to financial education, especially on the part of SEC.
Olubunmi, who is the Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto and Co, said, “It shows Nigerians need to learn more and ask questions.
“If you look at the trends over the decade, this is not the first time, this is not the second time and it will not be the last time. We have had different kinds of these Ponzi schemes.
“One thing you should also notice is that in the period of economic downturn, where we have low returns of the financial market, there is always the introduction of various schemes to try and lure vulnerable Nigerians.
“What we need to do as Nigerians is to sensitise ourselves. Any schedule or investment platforms that you see, always ask questions. The first thing to note is that, is that particular scheme or investment platform, or fund, registered with the SEC? Or the investment house that’s trying to distribute that instrument, is it registered with the SEC? If it’s not, then it’s not something that everyone should partake in.”
Ayokunle agreed that the latest development is a litmus test for the SEC as regards the new ISA 2025, but expressed fears that CBEX won’t be the last of Ponzi schemes.
“All these schemes would always come even in the developed countries; you still have these Ponzi schemes going on there.
“What I think SEC can do is to increase consumer education, let Nigerians have more financial education to understand basic questions to ask, the main features of these Ponzi schemes, probably if there’s a helpline to call to sensitise the public about the operations of a particular Ponzi scheme, I think that would help,” he said.
He, however, expressed hope that the operators of CBEX would be arrested and made to face the law.
Another victim speaks
A young lady, who simply identified herself as Edith and a resident of Lagos, spoke with Daily Trust.
How did you feel when you realised that CBEX had crashed?
I felt devastated, lost, stuck and hopeless ( I still do)
What have the last few weeks/months been like for you?
While CBEX was running smoothly, I felt at peace knowing I was growing my funds in dollars and would soon be able to cater to my needs and wants.
Have you sought any support—emotional, financial, or otherwise?
None whatsoever, I am just trying to regulate my feelings myself.
Looking back, where there any red flags you missed?
I saw none. I was a bit too confident about the platform; since it had a two-year goodwill.
What would you say to others who might be considering similar investment platforms?
Nigeria has placed us in a position of taking risks just to survive. I will advise them to be wise and know when to leave.
What do you think should happen to the people behind CBEX?
They gave people hope and a way to survive in this hardship, but pulled the rug when we least expected… They should be jailed if found and asked to return peoples earnings.
A list of Ponzi schemes operated in Nigeria in the last 10 years:
MMM Nigeria – 2016
Ultimate Cycler – 2016
Get Help Worldwide (GHW) – 2016
Twinkas – 2016
Icharity Club – 2016
Crowd Rising – 2016
Claritta – 2016
Help2Get – 2016
Loopers Club – 2016
Givers Forum – 2016
NNN Nigeria – 2017
MMM Cooperation – 2017
GCCH (Global Crediting Cooperative Hub) – 2017
Money Riot – 2017
RevoMoney – 2017
SwissGolden (Nigeria version) – 2017
NNU (Nigeria News Update) – 2017
Peer2Peer Donation – 2017
Twinkas Reloaded – 2017
Donation Hub – 2017
MyBonus – 2017
ZarFund – 2017
Bitclub Advantage – 2018
Million Money – 2018
Helping Hands International – 2018
DGSOUK – 2018
Pennywise – 2018
Loom – 2019
Crowd1 – 2019
Lion’s Share – 2020
InksNation – 2020
Baraza Multipurpose Cooperative – 2020
Racksterli – 2020
86FB (aka 86Z) – 2021
Eagle Cooperative – 2021
Royal Q (Nigerian scam version) – 2021
FINAFRICA – 2021
Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage – 2022
QNet (Nigeria) – 2022
Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS) – 2022
MBA Forex – 2022
Chinmark Group – 2022
Inksledger – 2022
Axim Exchange – 2022
Compoundly – 2024
CALA (Cala Finance) – 2023
6Dollars Investment – 2023
Sidra Investment (cloned scam version) – 2024
WealthBuddy – 2024
BitFinance Global – 2025