Lere Olayinka, spokesman for Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and police to investigate the crash of digital trading platform CBEX, which he described as a Ponzi scheme.
The CBEX platform crashed on Monday, causing widespread controversy and significant investment losses for users, with estimated losses of over N1.3 trillion.
Scores of Ibadan residents had invested in the online trading platform, which promised a 100% Return on Investment (ROI) in 30 days, and stormed the office to express their displeasure and cart away valuables after the crash was announced.
Olayinka expressed no sympathy for the victims, tweeting, “As for victims of CBEX, police and EFCC should be on the lookout. I don’t have sympathy for greediness and foolishness.”
CBEX operated without legal approval from the Nigeria Securities Commission, and its crash led to investors’ wallets vanishing, with the platform locking its Telegram channels and postponing withdrawals.
The platform offered investors an option of $2,000 for $200 verification and $1,000 for $100 verification, but its legitimacy and operations have been called into question, with allegations of displaying falsified withdrawal records to mask difficulties users faced accessing their funds.