By Mary Agidi

The fraudulent investment scheme promising 50% profit within a certain period of days or months, started as far back as the 18th century. The popular name given to this scheme, “Ponzi,” was derived from an Italian financier, Charles Ponzi, who became known in the early 1920s as a swindler in North America. 

History has it that Charles Ponzi, also known as Carlo and Charles P. Bianchi, used to promise clients a 50% profit on their investments within 45 days or 100% within 90 days. His scheme reportedly ran for a year before it collapsed, causing investors $20 million in losses. 

This idea gradually evolved into different forms and names, and people across the globe continue to fall for it.  In Nigeria, several Ponzi schemes (MMM, Inksnation, Crowd 1, Helping Hands, etc.) have been introduced to the financial market, which eventually led to investors suffering losses due to unexpected collapses.

Most operators of these schemes do not usually have physical and traceable addresses, but people continue to invest blindly because of a get-rich-quick mentality. 

In 2016, both young and old, rich and poor, in Nigeria fell victim to the Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM), which was the most devastating of all until the recent CBEX scheme.

MMM’s misfortune cost some investors their lives; some reportedly committed suicide, while some families and friends fought bitterly over it.  For MMM, the desperation to get ‘AWOOF’ money—having been promised 50% profit on investment—blinded victims from questioning what kind of investment could yield such gain within a month’s interval.  Publicity, Certificates of Registration Plunge 600,000 Nigerians into CBEX’s net of deceit. 

The recent one, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), was introduced as a legally certified investment platform. The launch of CBEX received wide publicity from recognized media organisations, and about 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in it.  Video clips of the launch programme at its Abuja office, aired by Independent Television of Benin, circulated widely on social media after the scheme collapsed in mid-April 2025, just three months after it was registered. 

This publicity undoubtedly contributed to why many notable and wealthy Nigerians exuded trust in the scheme and invested millions of naira.  With the addition of advertisements and certificates of registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), CBEX champions successfully convinced victims that it was an artificial intelligence-powered cryptocurrency trading platform where users could buy and sell digital assets with 100% profit every month. 

According to reports, CBEX collapsed with a whopping sum of over one trillion naira belonging to Nigerians.  Meanwhile, the EFCC claimed that CBEX was not registered with the Commission but operated under ST Technologies, which was registered in January 2025 as a consultancy firm. 

Unlike others, CBEX had a physical office in Ibadan, which was besieged by victims after the announcement of its collapse, as well as an office in Abuja.  It took the intervention of security agencies to forestall mayhem by taking control of the area. 

Some victims are crying wolf silently, while some cannot hide their pains and announce their losses publicly. 

A woman, a returnee from Libya named Bolanle, was seen at the premises of the CBEX office crying profusely. She shared how she was cajoled by her neighbour in Ibadan to invest all her hard-earned income into the scheme.  Notable Nigerians, like the Yoruba musician Taye Currency, also shared his ordeal, revealing how he lost N10,000,000. 

Public Analysts Blame Materialism, Greed for Nigerians’ Loss in CBEX Ponzi Scheme  Poverty, gullibility, the get-rich-quick mentality, and failure on the part of the government to regulate investment platforms in Nigeria have been attributed as reasons why Nigerians continue to fall victim to fraudulent investment platforms. 

A public analyst, Mr. Olubunmi Akinsemola, attributed the recent loss by Nigerians who invested in the CBEX platform to deep-rooted societal greed and materialism.  Reacting to the latest Ponzi scheme scandal, Akinsemola said the tragedy reflects a fractured and deceptive society that continues to nurture harmful practices.

He noted that despite painful experiences from past scams such as MMM, Nigerians are still quick to embrace get-rich-quick schemes, driven by an unhealthy obsession with money.  “The same people who were scammed by MMM not too many moons ago have again fallen prey to a similar scheme.

“Truth is, if another one surfaces tomorrow, these same people will still fall for it,” he lamented.  According to him, scammers are aware of a ready market of victims driven by greed and unless the societal mindset changes, more such schemes are inevitable. 

Akinsemola described Nigerian society as “extremely materialistic” and “money-conscious,” highlighting that desperation for wealth has led people to engage in extreme measures such as money rituals, prostitution, internet fraud and even the sale of human organs and reproductive eggs.

He also accused politicians of deliberately weaponising poverty to manipulate the masses during elections, despite being well aware of better governance practices from their visits to developed countries.  “They won’t do what is right to improve the standard of living of Nigerians but will worsen the poverty to make people sell their votes and, by extension, their souls,” he said. 

Calling for a fundamental shift in values, Akinsemola stressed the need for a societal reset: “Our brains and minds need to be formatted to godly factory settings,” he concluded, warning that Nigeria will never get it right unless there is a collective resolve to change.  Meanwhile, probably due to the alleged involvement of government agencies that backed the operation of CBEX through certificates of registration, the EFCC has launched an investigation into its operation.

It declared four persons wanted in connection with the scheme. Out of the four, two were reported to have featured in the video clip of CBEX’s Abuja office launch, where they encouraged Nigerians to invest.  They are Seyi Oloyede, Emmanuel Uko, Adefowora Oluwanisola, and Adefowora Abiodun Olanipekun.