On Monday, news about the crash of CryptoBridge Exchange, popularly known as CBEX, a Ponzi scheme, went viral. The scheme helped victim investors collectively lose an estimated N1.3 trillion.
The scheme became popular after it was promoted by ST Technologies International, a firm registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and owned by Harold David Charles, a British national.
The investment promised three per cent daily profit on invested capital through a trading system automated by artificial intelligence. It encouraged investors to bring in more people so they could earn bonuses and commissions.
Beyond the faces behind the scheme, those who organised press conferences and events to convince Nigerians, FIJ also found some online promotions made by influencers for the Ponzi scheme.
Many used their personal pages to advertise the scheme and lure investors.
ATIINUKEH
Atiinukeh, was one of the earliest influencers to promote the scheme on TikTok. As far back as February, she had invited her followers to invest in the CBEX platform.
In one post, she wrote, “You mean you haven’t still heard about CBEX? You are on a long thing!”
Atiinukeh, also known as Fatima, had over 10,000 followers on the platform and over 60,000 likes. FIJ saw that after the news of CBEX’s crash made it out, the influencer told her followers that she was one of the few to invest in it early and who has made more than enough Return on Investments (ROI).
BUKONLA
On March 21, TikTok user Hairdivar shared a post inviting users to make “cool cash” on CBEX.
She wrote, “Have you tried CBEX yet? If not, you need to comment on this post, let’s all make this cool cash together.”
In the comments section, she explained that CBEX was a trading platform.
From the details found on this TikTok account, Bukonla Hairstylist is based in the United Kingdom, and has 1,151 followers on the page with 27,400 likes.
ever since CBEX’s crash, many users have flooded the post asking questions.
QUEEN DEE
Queen Dee is another account that actively promoted CBEX before its crash.
FIJ found that the user made multiple posts about the scheme here, here and here between March 5 and April 11.
Queen Dee has 2,018 followers and posts that have been liked 72,200 times on the platform.
One of the group’s Telegram pages called ‘ST Signal Group 1’ where the admins were asking investors to deposit some fixed amounts to claim their missing funds.
After the crash, group admins told investors they must deposit $100 or $200 — depending on their previous balance — to verify their accounts and reclaim their funds.
“If the account funds are less than $1,000 before the loss, you need to deposit $100 into the account,” the instructions read in part.
“If the account funds exceed $1,000 , you need to deposit $200 into the account.
“The deposited 100 or 200 USDT only need to be kept in the account exchange. You can withdraw it immediately after the claim is completed, and ST will compensate 5% of the handling fee. This deposit fund is only to prove the authenticity of your account.
“The claim settlement period is three days, from now until 23:59 on April 17, UK time. Any account that has not been confirmed and received within the specified time will be treated as a scammer’s arbitrage account and will be permanently banned. No claims will be accepted in the future.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced an investigation into CBEX.
Meanwhile, the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) stipulates a jail term of 10 years or a fine of N20 million for promoters and operators involved in pyramid schemes or Ponzi schemes.
