One of the most contentious conversations in Nigeria currently concerns the proliferation of Ponzi schemes in the last decade, which was brought to the forefront by the recent CBEX scam.
- CBEX, a Ponzi scheme, crashed in Nigeria, leaving 300,000 investors with estimated losses of $840 million.
- The scheme claimed to be the China Beijing Equity Exchange and promised up to 100% returns in a month.
- Nigerian regulatory agencies like SEC and EFCC are actively pursuing the case and plan to involve INTERPOL.
CBEX, a platform claiming to be the China Beijing Equity Exchange, crashed in Nigeria, leaving an estimated 300,000 investors with losses of about ₦1.3 trillion (roughly $840 million).
It guaranteed investors up to 100% returns in a month and required contributions in US dollars.
The platform operated without registration or oversight from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making it unlawful under Nigerian laws.
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As a result, the SEC, and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have taken a keen interest into the case, with intention to invite the International Criminal Police (Interpol).
This new development was confirmed by the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, who made the revelation to the PUNCH on Tuesday.
“We are actively working to handle the CBEX situation. We will collaborate with other regulatory agencies to ensure that Nigerians are protected from this kind of scheme. We will do our job—where recovery is possible, we will recover; where prosecution is possible, we will prosecute,” he stated.
“Overall, we will do our best. Additionally, there are similar frauds across the country that people are unaware of, and we are working to uncover them. We are on the local collaborators while we are partnering with INTERPOL to trace the foreign operators,” he added.
The spokesman also noted that the EFCC had been investigating CBEX before its crash.
“We had our intelligence before the incident. We were already working on it, but now that the scheme has collapsed, the major actors and their collaborators will be brought in,” he said.
“We will ensure that we save Nigerians from all these troubles associated with Ponzi schemes. Don’t forget that we already issued an advisory — the 58 companies we alerted the public about. There are many more we are currently investigating,” he added.
Reports indicated that CBEX, which had been promoted primarily through social media changed its domain name multiple times between January 2024 and February 1, 2025.
CBEX: Ponzi Scheme in Nigeria
CBEX, a platform claiming to be the China Beijing Equity Exchange, crashed in Nigeria, leaving an estimated 300,000 investors with losses of about ₦1.3 trillion (roughly $840 million). Investigations indicate that this was a Ponzi fraud, and the real amount lost might be substantially less, approximately $6.1 million.
In the days preceding CBEX’s shutdown, several new users reportedly registered, assuming the platform’s glitch was only a short-term security hiccup that would be fixed in a few days.
The site issued its subscribers a message just before it locked them out, saying, “All accounts need to undergo the following verification steps to ensure their authenticity.
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For accounts with funds below $1,000 before any losses, a deposit of $100 is required. For accounts with funds exceeding $1,000, a deposit of $200 is required.
Additionally, please keep your deposit receipts to ensure you can prove the authenticity of the account during future withdrawal reviews.”
The CBEX collapse is not the first time Nigerians have fallen victim to Ponzi schemes, and it may not be the last.
From MMM in 2016 to MBA Forex, RackSterli, and now CBEX, each scam appears to follow the same pattern: they emerge during an economic downturn, offer unachievable profits, and abuse trust through social proof and digital glamor.
Many Nigerians, particularly the youth and the jobless, live in continual financial distress. With few employment options, soaring inflation, a weakening naira, and skyrocketing living expenses, the desire to “double your money” becomes alluring.
