Nigerian court green lights arrest for six CBEX promoters — Report

A high court in Nigeria has reportedly granted the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the authority to arrest six individuals who were allegedly involved in investment fraud at a cryptocurrency exchange.

According to an April 24 report from Nigerian news outlet The Cable, the Federal High Court in Abuja approved the arrest and detention of six people who promoted the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), allegedly defrauding investors out of 1 billion naira, or roughly $620,000. The suspects in the cases did not appear to have been arrested at the time of publication. 

“[The defendants used] their company ST Technologies International Limited, promoted another company Crypto Bridge Exchange by making adverts, and lured unsuspecting members of the public to invest cryptocurrencies on the CBEX investment platform,” the EFCC reportedly said in its motion for the arrest.

The legal case marked another instance of Nigeria cracking down on representatives of crypto exchanges in the country. In February 2024, Nigerian authorities detained and arrested two Binance executives who were visiting to discuss the exchange’s activities.

Related: Nigeria still open to crypto business despite rocky past: Report

In April, many CBEX users began reporting that they could not withdraw their funds from the exchange, resulting in online outrage that led to real-world violence. A group of investors stormed CBEX’s local office in Ibadan, looting items like the air conditioning unit in an apparent attempt to recuperate some of their losses.

The Nigerian case against Binance, in which a US citizen, Tigran Gambaryan, was detained and whose health reportedly deteriorated as he waited in prison, drew criticism from many in the crypto industry and US lawmakers. He was held for eight months on tax and money laundering charges before being released to US custody.

Nigeria’s tax evasion case against Binance continues to move forward after Gambaryan’s release, though the exchange has no office in the country. Cointelegraph reached out to a representative from Nigeria’s Ministry of Information for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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