ABUJA: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that its efforts to recover funds linked to the collapsed CBEX Investment Scheme are being delayed by a lack of response from foreign authorities where a large portion of the money was allegedly transferred.
Officials of the anti-graft agency told journalists that more than a year after formal requests were sent to several foreign jurisdictions, the commission is still awaiting feedback that would enable investigators trace and recover the funds moved abroad.
According to an EFCC official familiar with the investigation, a significant share of the money invested by Nigerians in the scheme was transferred outside the country, complicating recovery efforts.
CBEX, an online investment platform that promised investors a 100 per cent return within 30 days through digital trading activities, collapsed in early April 2025 after attracting massive participation from Nigerians.
Investigations indicated that no fewer than 600,000 Nigerians invested about ₦1.3tn in the scheme before it crashed.
The platform reportedly restricted withdrawals on April 9, 2025, leaving thousands of investors unable to access their funds.
Many users soon discovered that their account balances had been wiped out. The platform allegedly demanded an additional deposit of at least $100 from users before they could regain access to their accounts, a move that further heightened suspicions that the operation was fraudulent.
Among those reportedly affected by the crash was Fuji musician Taye Currency, whose real name is Taye Adebisi.
Providing an update on the investigation, an EFCC source said the agency had written to several foreign governments seeking assistance in tracing funds transferred to accounts outside Nigeria.
However, the source said the agency had yet to receive official responses from those countries more than a year after the requests were made.
Many of the operators have been arrested and some of them have been arraigned in court,” the official said.
You know the scheme has foreign linkages. We have written to those foreign jurisdictions concerning the funds moved to their countries. We are still expecting responses, and this is not something we have direct control over.”
Another EFCC official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that cross-border financial investigations are often complicated because they involve multiple legal and administrative procedures across different countries.
According to the official, the investigation includes immigration processes, legal documentation and law-enforcement coordination with authorities in other jurisdictions.
Many issues are involved in a case like this. Immigration matters, legal frameworks and several law-enforcement procedures must be followed,” the source said.
They paid in dollars and other foreign currencies, so it involves different jurisdictions. These processes take time, but the investigation is ongoing.
Despite the international challenges, EFCC officials said the commission had made some progress in recovering funds within Nigeria.
Investigators disclosed that a number of suspects connected with the scheme had been arrested, and some money had been recovered from individuals believed to have promoted or managed the platform locally.
However, authorities believe a much larger percentage of the funds invested in the scheme had already been transferred outside Nigeria before the platform collapsed.
Some funds have been recovered locally from suspects who have been arrested, as earlier stated by our chairman, one official said.
But a larger portion of the money traced in the scheme is not within the country.”
The spokesman for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing this report.
Earlier in the investigation, the anti-graft commission declared 14 individuals wanted in connection with the fraudulent investment platform.
Several other suspects have since been apprehended and arraigned before the courts.
Investigators believe the scheme was operated by a network of local promoters working alongside foreign collaborators who helped move the funds through international financial channels.
This transnational dimension has made the investigation more complex and has placed significant emphasis on cooperation with international law-enforcement agencies.
The collapse of the CBEX scheme sparked nationwide outrage after hundreds of thousands of Nigerians lost their savings.
Financial analysts say the case highlights the increasing threat posed by unregulated digital investment platforms that promise unrealistic profits to attract unsuspecting investors.
Experts have repeatedly warned Nigerians to verify the regulatory status of investment platforms before committing funds, especially those promising unusually high returns within short periods.
They also urged stronger oversight from regulatory agencies and greater financial literacy among the public to prevent similar incidents in the future.
For many victims of the CBEX crash, however, the priority remains the recovery of their lost funds. Whether the EFCC will succeed in tracing and retrieving the money largely depends on cooperation from the foreign jurisdictions where the funds were allegedly transferred.
Until such cooperation is secured, the fate of billions of naira lost in one of Nigeria’s largest online investment scams remains uncertain.
