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CBEX: EFCC Arraigns Two Over Alleged $1 Billion Crypto Investment Scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arraigned two operators of the embattled Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), Awerosuo Otorudo and Chukwuebuka Ehirim, before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The defendants were brought before the court on a three-count amended charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/216/2025) bordering on unlicensed investment operations and illegal financial dealings. They were accused of luring the public to invest funds with promises of up to 88% returns—without regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
EFCC counsel, Fadila Yusuf, moved for the substitution of the original charges with the amended version filed on July 7. The application was unopposed, and the charges were read in court. The accused pleaded not guilty.
Yusuf then applied for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional facility.
The defence, represented by Justice Otorudo, argued that the defendants voluntarily submitted to the EFCC on April 25, cooperated fully with investigators, and posed no flight risk. He emphasized that the charges are bailable and that the EFCC’s claims of $1 billion fraud were not reflected in the actual charge sheet.
Following arguments from both sides, Justice Umar ordered the remand of the defendants at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned ruling on the bail application until July 18.
According to the EFCC, an investigation began after intelligence was received in April 2025 about a suspected crypto investment fraud linked to the defendants and their firm, ST Technologies International Ltd. The scheme, the agency claims, used CBEX to lure investors with promises of unrealistic returns, up to 100%.
The commission further alleged that victims were persuaded to convert their digital assets into USDT (a stablecoin) and deposit them into CBEX wallets. Initially, investors had access to monitor their funds, but later, the platform became inaccessible, and withdrawals were blocked.
EFCC’s preliminary findings suggest over $1 billion worth of digital assets may have been deposited before the platform collapsed.