EFCC Clarifies ST Technologies, Not CBEX Registered With SCUML, Vows Justice For Scam Victims
This registration is a statutory requirement for all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) in Nigeria, as part of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that ST Technologies, not CBEX, is registered with the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) in compliance with Section 17 of the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.
This registration is a statutory requirement for all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) in Nigeria, as part of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
“We are not a clearing house or regulatory authority of online businesses. But financial fraud of any kind is the remit of the Commission, and it is committed to ensuring justice for victims of the CBEX scam,” said the EFCC on Monday, underlining the agency’s ongoing efforts to address financial crimes.
The EFCC’s statement comes amid growing concerns over the CBEX digital trading platform, which was embroiled in a Ponzi scheme scandal that defrauded many Nigerian investors.
The Commission earlier assured the public that it was working tirelessly to recover funds for scam victims despite the international dimension of the case.
“We are working with Interpol to ensure that these people are brought to book and investors get their money back. We are working on that. This thing could have been averted, but be it as it may, it was not averted,” Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, recently told Channels TV’s Morning Brief.
“We are not going to throw our hands helplessly and say there is nothing the EFCC can do.”
The Commission stated that while the refund process might take time, it remained committed to ensuring that investors were eventually compensated.
“Investors will get their money back. It might not be in the short term, but I can assure you that the commission, as the leading anti-corruption agency in Nigeria, will not allow investors to lose their money like that,” Oyewale added.
The CBEX platform, initially believed to be a legitimate crypto exchange based in Canada, has now been exposed for not being officially registered in the country.
Investigations revealed that the name “CBEX” had likely misled many Nigerian investors, as it was closely associated with the Chinese government-owned China Beijing Equity Exchange, which might have given the false impression of government backing.
The collapse of CBEX sparked outrage among its investors, leading to violent protests and the looting of the company’s office in Oke Ado, Ibadan, Oyo State. The attack followed the sudden disappearance of user balances and investments when the platform failed.
As the investigation into the scandal continues, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reiterated that any platform not registered with the SEC is considered illegal.
