Despite being at the center of an alleged ₦1.2 trillion digital trading fraud that reportedly affected over 600,000 Nigerians, the embattled Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) platform has quietly resumed operations, introducing new withdrawal options in an apparent bid to restore investor confidence.
Two traders confirmed to The PUNCH on Wednesday that CBEX has reopened its platform, allowing new users to register, trade, and withdraw profits, even as regulatory agencies continue investigations into its activities.
Sources revealed that an insurance verification process and an external audit of CBEX’s financial records are underway to determine losses’ actual extent.
The audit, led by a UK-based insurance firm, is expected to conclude by June 25, 2025. At that point, many existing investors who have been locked out of their funds for weeks may begin withdrawing their money.
This comes just weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared CBEX illegal, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed that it was investigating the company.
CBEX, which launched in 2024 after receiving registration from the Corporate Affairs Commission on September 25, 2024, and the EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering on January 16, 2025, promised investors a 100% return on investments within 30 days through purported AI-powered trading.
The platform abruptly collapsed on April 14, 2025, allegedly wiping out ₦1.2 trillion in investor funds.
In response, the EFCC declared eight individuals wanted for promoting the scheme: Johnson Oteno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro, Serah Michiro, Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede.
READ ALSO: CBEX: EFCC Declares 41-Year-Old Foreigner Wanted
On Monday, Adefowora Abiodun, a key figure and trader on the platform, voluntarily turned himself in to the EFCC for questioning.
Meanwhile, regulatory bodies, including the SEC, have strongly criticized CBEX’s operations, warning Nigerians to avoid investment schemes that promise unrealistic returns under the guise of digital trading.
Nevertheless, new findings by The PUNCH on Wednesday revealed that many Nigerians continue to sign up, drawn by promises of rapid profits.
One source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization, said that while new users can now withdraw funds, older accounts believed to have lost their assets in the collapse remain frozen.
The source added that CBEX is actively attempting to distance itself from allegations of fraud and any characterization as a Ponzi scheme.
The source said, “People can now withdraw from the CBEX platform. The withdrawal option has been activated. Let me explain the withdrawal. The old account was wiped; you can’t take out funds from it yet. On the 14th of this month, the Artificial Intelligence on the platform traded 100 per cent, lost its trade, and wiped people’s money out.
“But now, the promoters are saying that the platform and the CBEX application are insured, with verification of funds ongoing by the insurance company. Now, previous investors who have $1,000 as their capital would have to inject $100, and the former account balance would be restored, while persons with over $1,000 would have to put in $200 to bring back the account balance. And we have started seeing people put in these funds to get back their money, and are using it to trade now, as I talk to you.
“According to the latest information shared, previous investors can only trade but not withdraw because the United Kingdom government is carrying out an audit on their financial account, which will be completed between 30 to 60 days. Hence, the reason why previous investors cannot withdraw their funds yet.
“But from June 25th, you can now withdraw up to 50 per cent of your capital from the old account. For example, if you invested $1,000 and you could only withdraw $200 before, from the 25th, you can withdraw $400 from the remaining $800 capital, then from August 25th, you can withdraw the remaining $400 capital. But if you don’t do the verification, it won’t reflect in your account.”
A separate source noted that new investors can currently open accounts, deposit funds, and withdraw profits without restrictions, as these newly created accounts are not subject to the ongoing audits.
According to the source, only older accounts are under financial review.
The promoters deny any allegations of fraud, claiming that all funds are secure and that the audit is solely intended to reconcile discrepancies in legacy accounts.
“Currently, fresh investors can register a new account, fund it, and withdraw their profit. The new accounts are not under audit. It is the old account that is under review.
“What they are auditing is because the Federal Government said they scammed Nigerians of N1.2tn, and they are insisting that the amount is not up to half of the publicised amount. They are claiming only N126bn was lost, and that is the reason for the audit. But new accounts can now start investing and get their money. There is also a bonus for referrals that you can withdraw immediately, and this is ongoing currently.
“They just want to prove to Nigerians that they are not scammers. It was just because AI traded 100 per cent of the funds that the money was lost. There is a new group where people can say whatever they want to say; they also drop signals for trading three times a day, but it is no longer automated; you have to do it by yourself. They would give you a code; you just have to put it in your account and trade. If you notice any abnormality, you can cancel it. That was how it was before AI started doing the trading,” the source stated.
When asked why the audit wasn’t carried out by the Nigerian government, a source explained, “The firm is registered in the United Kingdom, not Nigeria. Its presence here is an extension of its UK operations. In fact, it also has branches in Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.”
In a newly created Telegram group set up for information sharing, messages revealed that users were able to withdraw referral bonuses.
Responding to concerns raised in the group, an admin identified only as Laura said the root cause of the platform’s problems was still under investigation. She added that the outcome of the UK government’s ongoing probe would determine what information is ultimately disclosed.
The message read, “There are some factors in the incident on April 14th that I cannot tell you in detail. I can only tell you that Al was attacked and the trading strategy was tampered with.
“This is why some users who did not turn on HOSTING were able to survive. And this attack was definitely not from an individual, because Al’s firewall cannot be easily breached. Including the Bybit hacker incident last month, it was definitely not something that an individual could do. This was an organized and premeditated action.
“The specific cause is under investigation, and we need to wait for the official investigation results of the UK government before we make it public. As for this channel, some scammers affected by ST and online rumour mongers who received donations from scammers deliberately stigmatized the compensation.
“Some rumour mongers even claimed that CBEX administrators transferred more than $800m in assets. These are purely slanderous rumours. An exchange’s payment system can’t have only one common account. The payment system will randomly generate deposit addresses. These are all procedures of the exchange Including any wallet we use now will regularly update the deposit address.”
According to her, users must first accept the claims process initiated by the insurance company linked to the ST Fund firm.
She said, “We need to accept the claims processing of the insurance company that the ST fund company is tied to.”
The process involves verifying the authenticity of each account before any compensation can be issued for losses allegedly caused by the AI-related incident on April 14.
She added that many users have already begun receiving compensation.
“Moreover, the impact of this incident on the Internet has seriously exceeded our expectations. The UK government has also been negotiating with the Nigerian government.
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