Security Expert Reveals How Much Was Stolen On CBEX, Speaks On Nigerians Recovering Funds

Nigerians have taken to social media to voice their frustration and sorrow following the collapse of the CBEX digital asset trading platform, which reportedly siphoned over ₦1.3 trillion from investors’ accounts.

Naijaonpoint reports that the platform, known for its promises of lucrative returns, collapsed on Monday, leaving its investors facing severe losses after their funds vanished from their wallets.

In a shocking turn of events, CBEX locked its Telegram channels and suspended withdrawals. To make matters worse, the platform allegedly offered a “lifeline” to its investors by charging a verification fee: $2,000 for $200 verification and $1,000 for $100 verification, further heightening suspicions of fraudulent activity.

A cryptocurrency expert and security analyst, Taiwo Owolabi, gave a detailed analysis of the crash during a live X-space session organized by Trending X.

According to Owolabi, data reveals that the stolen funds were moved to a TRX address, with an estimated $847 million in USDT already siphoned, and that figure is expected to rise.

Owolabi explained that the funds were moved to a TRX wallet and then converted to USDT and ETH, leaving no trace of the funds in the users’ accounts.

He said, “What you see are just numbers.”

“All the daily activities you do to ‘trade’ increase your money, but when it’s time for withdrawal, they send you another person’s money.”

CBEX’s Deceptive Practices Exposed

CBEX, a platform that promised 100% Return on Investment (ROI) in just 30 days, initially appeared to offer a legitimate and secure trading environment.

However, it has now come under scrutiny for its fraudulent practices. Owolabi claimed that the platform was designed to look like ByBit, a legitimate trading platform, in order to deceive users.

According to the expert, the website was purposefully weak to create the illusion of a security breach when, in fact, the platform had been operating a Ponzi-like scheme.

“When you make payments, you pay them into a TRX account, and then, immediately, they move it from that TRX wallet, gather it, convert it to USDT, then to ETH. So, when you are logging into your account, there is literally no money on your profile,” he said.

Is There Any Hope For Withdrawals?

Owolabi was blunt in his analysis, stating that the money is gone. He further explained that unless users pay the $100 or $200 verification fees, the platform would only pay out some users while leaving others in financial limbo.

This pattern, he argued, follows the classic ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ strategy commonly seen in Ponzi schemes.