The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that part of the stolen investors’ fund in the collapsed investment platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) has been traced to Eastern Europe, particularly Cambodia.
The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, disclosed during a televised interview on Sunday that the commission has recovered a portion of the diverted funds and made arrests linked to the fraudulent scheme.
CBEX, which collapsed in April 2025, allegedly defrauded Nigerian investors of over ₦1.3 trillion.
“We have gone far with CBEX. We have been able to recover a reasonable amount of money,” Olukoyede said, adding that the investigation remains active and complex due to the nature of the digital assets and channels used to move the funds.
The EFCC chairman explained that the funds were initially stolen in cryptocurrency, making the recovery process more technically demanding.
“Even though the funds are in the crypto wallet—the same way the money was taken from the victims—there is no way to get them in dollars without going through similar crypto processes,” he noted.
Olukoyede also confirmed that the perpetrators relied heavily on non-custodial wallets, which do not require Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliance, making it difficult to trace ownership.
According to him, this anonymous method of operation significantly complicated the commission’s ability to track down all individuals involved.
“We are still investigating a lot of wallets. These criminals used non-custodial wallets, which means you can’t trace them to any identity,” he said.
The EFCC has, however, been able to identify and block some wallets that had not yet dispersed the stolen funds. These wallets were traced to Cambodia and other parts of Eastern Europe, where the fraudsters attempted to conceal and redistribute the illicit proceeds.
“We have been able to block some of these wallets where money has not been dispersed,” Olukoyede stated, while confirming that additional arrests have been made and several other suspects remain at large.
The anti-graft agency has declined to provide full details on the arrests and identities of those apprehended, citing the need to protect the integrity of ongoing operations.
“We are not going to give out much because we don’t want the process to be disrupted. We are still after quite a number of people we have declared wanted,” he added.
CBEX came under scrutiny in April after users were locked out of their accounts, with withdrawal functions suspended and balances erased without explanation. The abrupt disruption sparked public outrage and prompted the EFCC to commence investigations.
Despite widespread backlash, CBEX has reportedly resumed operations, allowing new user registrations and initiating fresh withdrawal options.
The move is widely seen as an attempt to re-establish investor confidence. However, the EFCC has warned Nigerians against falling for similar investment traps.
“I even learnt that some of these perpetrators are still active, and Nigerians are still falling victim. I believe people should learn from this,” Olukoyede said, urging the public to be cautious in dealing with unregulated digital investment schemes.
The EFCC’s ability to trace cross-border crypto transactions and block non-custodial wallets underscores an expanding technical capacity in tackling sophisticated financial crimes.
However, the agency has reiterated that more work remains to fully dismantle the network behind CBEX and recover the total losses incurred by Nigerian investors.
