CBEX Collapse: The $800 Million Crypto Scam That Shook Nigeria and Kenya

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CBEX, a platform that claimed to be the future of digital asset trading, has instead become the poster child for Nigeria’s most colossal financial con. Investors—once hopeful—are now staring at empty pockets.

In a bold move that would make any con artist proud, CBEX promised returns so high they seemed drawn from a fevered dream. “100% in just 30 days,” they said, like a modern-day alchemist. Thousands, desperate for any sign of hope amidst economic despair, joined from Nigeria and Kenya, drawn like moths to the flame of easy wealth. But behind the digital glitz and promises of riches lay a Ponzi scheme of staggering proportions.

CBEX Collapses: Was Anyone Surprised?

By April 2025, the dream went up in smoke. Withdrawals were disabled. The Telegram channel? Gone. And then the icing on the cake: the audacity to demand a “verification” fee of $100–$200 to retrieve funds that may as well have been sucked into a black hole.

CBEX had promised users a 30% return every month. Simple math would suggest that in no time, you’d be rolling in more money than you’d ever need. Too bad it was all a mirage. Now, investors are stuck, staring at frozen accounts, wondering if their money is lost forever.

Angry investors didn’t just sit back and take it. BBC reported a mob of them stormed a CBEX office in Ibadan, Nigeria, while others turned to social media to vent their heartbreak. Videos of teary-eyed investors flooded the internet.

“I was all set to withdraw everything last week,” said Ola, a disillusioned investor. “But my friend told me to wait… Now, look at this.”

According to The Nation Online, the funds vanished almost immediately after deposits. What were once believed to be real investments were nothing more than digital vapor. The financial damage is estimated to be over 1.3 trillion Naira (roughly $800 million USD).

CBEX’s implosion has drawn uncomfortable comparisons to MMM, the Ponzi scheme from 2016 that wiped out millions. And yet, despite all the warnings, people still threw their hats in, hoping to get rich quick. Spoiler alert: They didn’t.

The Magic Trick: How Did CBEX Operate?

Enter Specter, the independent investigator who laid bare the inner workings of CBEX’s con. He uncovered that CBEX cleverly used the TRON blockchain to route victims’ hard-earned money through an elaborate web of wallets. And then, like a well-practiced magician, it would vanish—transformed into USDT or USDD and transferred to exchanges like OKX, Bitget, and HTX. Voilà! Your money is now someone else’s new toy.

“Each new user got a unique wallet address,” Specter said. “Their funds went into another wallet, and TRON’s energy system allowed them to play this game while keeping fees low. It was like moving money through a magic portal, only it was all an illusion.”

He traced one wallet that received a whopping $3.2 million (now only $353,000 remains). Another one held $1.9 million. All in all, he tracked over $5.7 million being shuffled around major exchanges like a game of financial hot potato.

To make matters worse, Specter’s investigation linked CBEX to Huione Pay, a known money-laundering network in Southeast Asia. It turns out the platform was using scam website templates from a popular Telegram coder, Kehon8. Oh, and let’s not forget about Nigerian Telegram admins like Victor Aiguosatile Osamwende, who not only promoted CBEX but allegedly bullied victims after the collapse. Real heroes, these guys.

If that’s not enough to make you cringe, there are whispers that CBEX’s user data may have leaked to the darknet. So, not only are your savings gone, but your personal information might be floating around in the abyss of the internet. Great.

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2025-04-16 10:55