CBEX Crash and the Greed Trapping Many Nigerians

By Abubakar Musa Idris,

On April 15, CBEX—another in the long, dreadful line of Ponzi schemes—folded, sending shockwaves through Nigeria’s fragile financial landscape.

The company’s collapse left behind a trail of heartbreak, with over ₦1.5 trillion of investors’ funds lost in what is fast becoming a recurring tragedy—one enabled, and in many ways sustained, by the persistent failure of Nigeria’s regulatory ecosystem.

This is not just about another fraudulent scheme. It is a loud, disgraceful echo of what we have seen before. And unless something fundamental changes, it is what we will see again.

CBEX operated under the shadowy shell of Super Technology, a platform that lured millions with the promise of a 50% monthly return on cryptocurrency investments. From the outset, it reeked of deceit.

Yet, no regulatory alarm bells rang. No red tape. No intervention. Only silence. How does a company promise such outrageous returns, rake in trillions from unsuspecting citizens, and operate in broad daylight without scrutiny from institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

That silence is the real scandal. Our regulators have once again failed to act until the damage had been done. The story of CBEX is not new—it is a familiar nightmare wearing a different name.

It mirrors the collapse of MMM in 2016, which wiped out ₦18 billion in savings. It follows MBA Forex Trading, which vanished with ₦171 billion. Others like Nospecto, Racksterli, Twinkas, and Titan Farms all played their part in looting from Nigeria’s poor and desperate.

Together, they form a pattern—one that regulators refuse to break. And the question continues to stare us in the face: why do Nigerians keep falling for these traps? The answers lie deep within our socio-economic realities.

With unemployment soaring past 33%, and inflation forcing millions below the poverty line, many Nigerians are left grasping at straws. In such a climate, a promise of quick financial relief—even if it defies logic—becomes hard to ignore.

But it is not just desperation. It is also about ignorance. Financial literacy in Nigeria is dangerously low. Millions do not understand basic investment principles. They do not know how to assess risk or identify warning signs.

And worse, the agencies tasked with protecting the public do little to educate them. Year after year, scam after scam, nothing changes. The cryptocurrency sector is particularly vulnerable.

It exists in a legal limbo—exciting and promising, but also unregulated and easily manipulated. Platforms like CBEX exploit that ambiguity. They deploy glossy tech speak and foreign terminologies to mask old fraud under a modern face.

Meanwhile, our laws remain outdated, and our regulators continue to play catch-up in a game they have never won. What is more troubling is the absence of accountability. Court cases against past Ponzi operators drag on endlessly without conclusion.

Investors never recover their funds. Perpetrators walk free. The message this sends is clear: in Nigeria, financial crime pays. This is not a time for cosmetic reforms. What we need is a complete overhaul of how financial regulation is done in this country.

All investment platforms must be subjected to compulsory registration and licensing. A public verification system should be in place to instantly authenticate any investment company.

And beyond enforcement, our agencies must commit to sustained nationwide financial education programs—especially tailored to the grassroots, where hope often blinds judgment.

The CBEX saga is not just a story of individual loss. It is a national disgrace. It shows that our institutions are not only asleep but may also be complicit in their silence.

Until there is a deliberate, courageous, and systemic reform, more Nigerians will continue to fall prey to financial predators in suits and tech labels. The next collapse is already brewing. The question is not if it will happen—but when.

And unless we learn from CBEX and demand real accountability, it will meet us again—same script, different title, same broken country.