- Ponzi Scheme: CBEX, a digital investment platform, operated a Ponzi scheme that promised investors 100% profit after 30 days of purported AI trading.
- Registration Certificates: The promoters used registration certificates from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to convince investors of the scheme’s authenticity.
- Investor Confidence: The certificates gave investors confidence in the scheme, which was further bolstered by the company’s charitable activities, including hospital outreach and paying hospital bills.
- Collapse and Losses: The scheme collapsed, leaving approximately 600,000 Nigerians with losses of N1.3 trillion.
- Company Information: The company, ST Technologies International Limited, was registered with the CAC on September 25, 2024, and the EFCC on January 16, 2025. However, open-source intelligence platforms did not display the company’s address, board members, or other critical information.
The CAC’s website confirmed that ST Technologies International Limited remained active, but the names of its board of directors were not accessible. A video clip from a Nigerian television station identified Adefowora Abiodun as the leader of the company and Oluwanisola Adefowora as its representative in Nigeria. The use of registration certificates and charitable activities were part of the tactics employed by the promoters to deceive investors.
