The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has formally arraigned two operators of the embattled Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), Avwerosuo Otorudo and Chukwuebuka Ehirim, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged involvement in a staggering $1 billion cryptocurrency investment fraud. The accused appeared before Justice Mohammed Umar on Monday, facing a three-count amended charge bordering on operating unlicensed financial services, running an illegal investment scheme, and obtaining public funds without proper regulatory approvals.
According to the anti-graft agency, Otorudo and Ehirim, in concert with other yet-to-be-apprehended CBEX promoters, allegedly enticed thousands of unsuspecting Nigerians to invest in the CBEX platform by promising unusually high returns of up to 88 per cent. Investigations revealed that the platform operated outside the regulatory framework of both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in clear violation of sections of the Investment and Securities Act, 2025, and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020.
During Monday’s proceedings, EFCC counsel, Fadila Yusuf, informed the court of an amended charge filed on July 7, 2025, and requested that it replace the earlier charge. Justice Umar granted the request without opposition. When the new charges were read, the two defendants pleaded not guilty to all three counts.
The prosecution subsequently urged the court to remand the defendants in a correctional facility pending the determination of their bail status. However, defence counsel, Justice Otorudo, pleaded for their release on bail, arguing that the defendants voluntarily submitted themselves to the EFCC and had no previous criminal records. He further claimed that there was no conclusive evidence proving that public funds were deposited into their accounts and stressed that the charges were bailable, with two of the offences carrying a maximum sentence of five years or an option of fine.
The EFCC, however, strongly opposed the bail application, citing the magnitude of the alleged fraud and the risk of flight, especially given that several other suspects remain at large. “They only came forward after they were compelled. We are still pursuing other members of the syndicate who are currently on the run,” Yusuf told the court.
Justice Umar ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the ruling on their bail application to July 18, 2025.
The commission also revealed that CBEX was operated under the cover of a shell company named ST Technologies International Limited, which was neither registered with SEC nor licensed to carry out any investment operations. Victims were allegedly lured through aggressive digital marketing campaigns and were instructed to convert their funds into stablecoins such as USDT (Tether) before depositing them into wallets connected to CBEX.
Preliminary findings by the EFCC indicated that from January 2024 to May 2025, CBEX collected over $1 billion in crypto assets from investors before the platform suddenly became inaccessible. Victims reportedly lost access to both the platform and their investments, sparking widespread complaints and petitions.
In an earlier ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite of the same Federal High Court had granted the EFCC’s application to detain six CBEX promoters, including the two now arraigned, while the investigation was ongoing. Others identified by the agency include Adefowora Abiodun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede.
The EFCC added that the suspects had allegedly vacated their last known addresses in Lagos and Ogun States in an apparent move to evade arrest, prompting the commission to seek a court-issued warrant and consider requesting red alerts for their apprehension abroad, if necessary.
The case has since drawn significant public interest, particularly within Nigeria’s growing crypto investment community, with many calling for tighter regulation of digital financial platforms to protect investors from fraud and exploitation.
