Abuja, Nigeria – More details don surface as promoters of the fraudulent Ponzi scheme, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), don deceive hundreds of thousands of investors to put money for di platform. CBEX, wey be digital investment platform, promise investors 100 percent profit after 30 days of na so-called AI trading. As the scheme crash on Monday, reports show say no fewer than 600,000 Nigerians don invest and lose a staggering N1.3 trillion.
Investigation by Saturday PUNCH reveal say di promoters operate under di name ST Technologies International Limited, wey dem register with di Corporate Affairs Commission on September 25, 2024. Di company also dey registered with di Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on January 16, 2025. Copies of di registration certificates show how dem fit build confidence among investors.
“Wey dem dey do charity and hospital outreach, people believe say di scheme na real,” one investor wey no wan show name talk. Di CAC website confirm say di company still dey active, but Saturday PUNCH no fit find out di names of di board members. A video wey comot from ITV show one Adefowora Abiodun as di leader of ST Technologies International Limited.
For di video, Adefowora dey encourage Nigerians to invest in di scheme, say wetin de go happen go improve their standard of living: “With di help of ST, you no go lose money if you follow wetin we talk.” Di video recorded on February 10, 2025, during di inauguration of di firm’s office for Abuja.
Di promoters of di scheme maintain different Telegram groups to keep communication steady with di users. Our reporters access three groups among dem. Di first group, ‘ST Customer Support’, get about 144,460 members, while di second group, ‘Newcomer Advance Group’, get 58,186 members. Di third, ‘ST Signal Group IV’, don drop to 83,792 members as di crash happen. All Telegram accounts don lose access after di crash.
Dele Oyewale, di Head of Media and Publicity for di EFCC, confirm say di Ponzi scheme dey registered under ST Technologies. He talk say dem don initiate procedures to revoke di company’s registration after dem find out dem dey do different from wetin dem register. “Di company no dey operate as CBEX. Dem register under di consultancy services category,” he explain.
Di Securities and Exchange Commission also back di EFCC claims, saying preliminary investigations show say CBEX don create false legitimacy to entice Nigerians to invest. “Dem no fit honor withdrawal requests for di subscribers and don close physical offices,” di SEC statement read.
Di recruitment strategy for CBEX include bringing influencers and radio presenters as brand ambassadors. Di marketing spread through offices for Abuja, Lagos, and Ibadan, and via radio and social media platforms. Patients and illiterates no dey spared as dem encourage everybody to invest.
Di video of prominent Fuji musician, Taye Currency, don go viral after he lament say he lose N10 million to CBEX. For di clip, he expose how his associates introduce di Ponzi scheme to him and di shock wey follow after he invest di money.
Other victims don report heavy losses as dem talk how dem sell properties or take loans to fit invest in di scheme. “Di way dem dey promise bonuses be like fairy tale. I naivety lead me here,” one policeman wey sell him car to invest say.
A United States-based Nigerian crypto investor, Ojukwu Emmanuel, warn say di crash show serious issues with Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, noting di platform’s promises dey too good to be true. “Di system don dey manipulate behind di scenes,” he warn. He emphasize say many Nigerians fit fall for such schemes due to di hope of making quick returns.
Nigerians dey raise concerns about di EFCC’s failure to warn di public before such schemes collapse, urging for better awareness and regulatory measures to stop future occurrences. Lawyer Inibehe Effiong highlight di need for international cooperation to track di perpetrators and prevent fraud di same way.
