PANews reported on April 16 that according to CryptoSlate, thousands of Nigerians were defrauded of tens of millions of dollars by the fraudulent digital asset trading platform CBEX, which operates in a Ponzi scheme. Local media reported that investors had lost a total of 1.3 trillion naira (about 800 million U.S. dollars), but analysis showed that the actual loss may be much lower than this, because the address belongs to Binance hot wallet, which is inconsistent with the speculation on Nigerian social media. Independent analyst Specter estimated that the total loss was close to 12 million U.S. dollars. CBEX promised high profits, required referrals and locked funds, and promoted AI trading strategies that claimed to have a 100% return within 30 days. The platform gained credibility by appearing in national media and was packaged as a "poverty alleviation" program to attract many investors. They were encouraged to recruit people to join, but withdrawals required a long lock-up period. In April 2025, user accounts were frozen without warning, and the suspension of withdrawals triggered a backlash. Angry users flocked to its offices in Ibadan and Lagos, and some people shared stories of losing tens of thousands of dollars online.
The collapse of CBEX seems to be part of a wider scam network. Analyst Specter linked it to Ponzi schemes such as LWEX and PCEX, pointing out cloned websites and similar models. Wallets associated with CBEX are related to Huione Pay, a Southeast Asian payment exchange system and illegal financial activity center. Earlier in April last year , the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission warned the public to beware of CBEX Group's suspected fraud related to virtual assets.
