Following the collapse of the Ponzi scheme, CBEX, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), warned that the platform was not registered and had no license to operate.
The SEC clarified that neither CBEX nor its affiliates were approved by the commission to operate as a Digital Assets Exchange, solicit investments from the public or perform any other function in the Nigerian capital market.
The commission disclosed that its investigation shows that CBEX engaged in promotional activities, creating a false image of legitimacy to lure gullible investors with a promise of bogus returns within a short time.
The capital market regulator said CBEX failed to honour withdrawal requests from investors and abruptly closed their physical offices.
However, following publicly available information, an investigative platform, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), tracked the alleged individuals who were publicly identified as leaders and promoters of CBEX.
CBEX was partly launched in Nigeria, embarking on a media blitz between January 27 and 28, and positioning itself as a reliable investment platform.
Findings show that Harold David Charles emerged as the leader of the IT Investment Co. Ltd, the parent company of CBEX.
In a publication in a national daily on January 28, Charles was named the CEO with 14 years of experience in the financial industry, creating insights into market trends, and leading CBEX to ‘innovate and make breakthroughs in the investment field.’
According to CBEX, it established a strategic partnership with CryptoBridge Exchange.
CBEX was floated and promoted by ST Technology International, which was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and given an anti-money laundering certification by EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) on January 26, 2025.
It had other affiliates such as Smart Treasure and Super Technology, maintaining consistency with the initials, S.T.
FIJ reported that behind CBEX were names like Adefowora Abiodun and Oluwanisola Adefowora, leaders and representatives of the Ponzi scheme.
Others include Seyi Oloyede and Emmanuel Uko, who are identified as members of the CBEX.
Abiodun introduced CBEX to Nigerians on February 10, 2025, in its Abuja office.
He said:
According to internet searches, another person involved with and promoted CBEX was Temitayo Oke, a key promoter in Ibadan, whose Facebook page was identified as the Oklet CBEX ST Team group.
Checks showed that the page promoted CBEX activities passionately until March 13, 2025, when problems surfaced in the Ponzi scheme.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that many Nigerian investors lost their life savings after CBEX, an unsecured and unregistered digital trading platform, crashed on Monday, April 14, 2025.
A previous TimesNow.com.ng report disclosed that the platform became unavailable and inaccessible to users seeking to withdraw their funds on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, leading to the belief that it had crashed.
