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27 hospitalised as CBEX ponzi scheme crashes in Oyo, wipes out N1.3trn
At least 27 individuals have reportedly been hospitalised following the sudden collapse of CBEX, a digital asset trading platform operating in Oyo State, which is now being described as a Ponzi scheme.
The crash, which occurred on Monday, sent shockwaves through online communities as aggrieved Nigerians took to social media to lament the disappearance of their investments. Reports suggest that over N1.3 trillion vanished from investors’ wallets when the platform abruptly shut down operations.
CBEX, which operated without registration or approval from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), locked out investors on Monday, freezing accounts, postponing withdrawals, and restricting access to its Telegram support channels. In a suspicious move, the platform began offering questionable “verification options” — demanding $200 from users who invested $2,000 and $100 from those with less than $1,000.
The fallout has been severe, with multiple victims reportedly requiring medical attention. One of them, Sherif Latifu, based in Ibadan, disclosed that at least 27 people he knew had been admitted to various hospitals across the city.
“This is a major crisis in Ibadan,” Latifu said. “Many are in hospitals due to shock and emotional breakdown. We’re appealing to Governor Seyi Makinde to step in and subsidise our medical bills.”
Commenting on the scheme, cryptocurrency expert and cybersecurity analyst Amusa Salami Taiwo revealed that so far, around $847 million in USDT (Tether) has been siphoned from investors’ funds — a figure he said could climb as more victims come forward.
Taiwo questioned why many Nigerians ignored the lack of regulatory approval and were lured by promises of 100% returns on investment.
“They used a substandard website as a decoy, likely to later claim a security breach,” he explained. “When users made payments, they were sent to a TRX wallet, which was immediately drained. The funds were converted to USDT, then to Ethereum (ETH), leaving investors’ dashboards empty.”
The CBEX debacle has once again raised concerns about the unchecked rise of fraudulent online investment platforms in Nigeria and the vulnerability of desperate investors seeking quick returns.
