What seemed like a promising investment opportunity for many Nigerians has ended in turmoil, as CBEX, a platform falsely posing as a global trading firm, has collapsed and vanished with millions of dollars.
The scheme gained traction in 2024, promoting unrealistic profits and drawing in thousands with the promise of 100% returns in just 30 days.
Operating under the name “China Beijing Equity Exchange,” CBEX misled investors by borrowing the name of a legitimate Chinese firm.
The original “China Beijing Equity Exchange” is a government-run platform in Beijing, China, facilitating mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring for state-owned enterprises.
It had no official affiliation, yet it positioned itself as a global trading platform, even appearing on Nigerian state-owned media and branding itself as a poverty alleviation tool.
Its business model followed the familiar structure of a Ponzi scheme—offering high returns, incentivising user referrals, and locking up deposited funds.
Investors were shown supposed gains, but access to withdrawals was delayed through technical excuses and “lock-in” periods.
One investor recalled how CBEX group chats insisted that withdrawals would resume by 15 April,
“They told us it was just a rumour.”
That promise never materialised.
Source: X
As panic grew, CBEX froze user accounts without warning.
Social media erupted with complaints and videos showing furious investors storming company offices in Ibadan and Lagos.
ST Investment was the group behind the creation and operation of CBEX.
Others shared stories of losing their life savings, some amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.
Adding insult to injury, CBEX introduced a so-called verification fee scheme where users were asked to pay $100 or $200 in order to unlock $1,000 or $2,000, respectively—yet another layer to the scam.
Femi Azeez, a victim, told local media,
“I lost over $2,200.”
Initial local reports estimated investor losses at up to $800 million, allegedly linked to a Tron wallet (TDqSquXBgUCLYvYC4XZgrprLK589dkhSCf) believed to belong to CBEX.
However, CryptoSlats analysis later identified that address as a Binance hot wallet, casting doubt on that figure.
Independent crypto analyst Specter placed the real loss closer to $12 million, suggesting the original number may have been inflated by social media speculation.
During an X space hosted by Trending X, crypto expert Taiwo Owolabi made a separate claim.
He said the platform may have lost up to $847 million in USDT, adding that “when you make payments, you pay them into a TRX account… they move it, convert to USDT, and then to ETH.”
According to Owolabi, the platform’s creators intentionally built a low-functionality website to deceive users.
He explained,
“They designed the weak website to convince people in the future that it was a security breach that affected them.”
On the surface, user dashboards showed account balances, but behind the scenes, no funds were actually stored on the platform.
Much of the community engagement and updates were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups.
One message from a group named CBEX_ST reads:
“The ST team has always been committed to doing what we say we will do, and we have always promised to compensate anyone who loses money as a result of trading errors on our signals.”
By 14 April, those communication channels had gone quiet, locked by administrators.
Users were left with no answers as complaints surged online.
Investigations by Specter revealed CBEX was not acting alone.
The same digital fingerprints appeared in other known Ponzi schemes, such as LWEX and PCEX.
LWEX had previously targeted victims in Hungary and Slovakia before disappearing earlier this month.
CBEX wallets were also reportedly connected to Huione Pay, a platform operating in Southeast Asia.
Blockchain forensics firm Elliptic had previously flagged Huione as a major hub for illegal transactions—over $24 billion—linked to scams, money laundering, and even human trafficking.
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that CBEX was never licensed.
SEC Director General Emomotimi Agama said during a fintech stakeholder session on the new Investment and Securities Act (ISA 2025),
“If it is not registered, it is illegal.”
Under ISA 2025, operators of Ponzi schemes now face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $32,000 if convicted.
CBEX launched in Nigeria in July 2024 and quickly followed the path of infamous scams such as MMM, Twinkas, Ultimate Cycler, and Get Help Worldwide.
Source: X (@SpecterAnalyst)
According to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerians lost over $690 million to Ponzi schemes and related frauds between 2000 and 2023.
MMM alone was responsible for at least $13 million in losses.
The story of CBEX now adds to that painful legacy.
Investors continue to call for regulatory enforcement and digital literacy as the financial damage spreads across borders.
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