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The internet has been abuzz for days as investors in an online platform, CBEX, could no longer access their wallet or withdraw fundsSeveral perspectives have emerged on the matter, including that of investors who felt they had been lured and scammedA cybersecurity expert has released a video showing what happened to investors' funds from the point deposits were made
journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
Amidst complaints about lost investments in the frozen CBEX platform, a cybersecurity expert has explained what happened to investors' funds.
After promising investors 100% returns in 30 days, CBEX suddenly restricted withdrawals on April 9, 2025, promising investors that withdrawals would resume on April 15.
Surprisingly, all wallet balances reverted to $0.0 on April 14, 2025, causing a public uproar by investors online and offline.
Mr. Taiwo Owolabi, a cybersecurity expert and hacker, provided the explanation during an X space session and later shared a screen recording showing how he traced the movement of funds away from the deposit wallet address.
What happened to CBEX investors’ funds
In the video, the cybersecurity expert created an account on the website, deposited $300 into the wallet, and then began tracking the movement of the funds.
“After they moved the funds, we could still see on the website that the money is still there. Meanwhile, behind the scene on the blockchain, there was nothing there. The balance was $0, valueless.
“After they moved the money from the deposit wallet into this funnel address, you will discover that majority of the outgoing transactions are going into this smart contract – Bridgers. This is a decentralized exchange that you can swap coin on, and you can see it captured here as a swap.
"The ones that were not swapped are shown as transfer. You can see the huge sum of amount these guys are moving out into that contract. The smart contract will move the funds and change it to any currency – naira, dollar or whichever one they want”.
The transaction hash analysis revealed that the funds were moved from the funnel address into Bridgers.
Further analysis showed the final destination wallet had an available balance of $767,678.73, converted to Ethereum as of Saturday, April 12, 2025, with more inflows still incoming.
By Monday, April 14, 2025, the total amount moved in reached $822,852,811.66 (₦1,337,021,554,889.20 trillion) and was later moved into a private Ethereum wallet.
How investors' funds disappeared from their wallets
Regarding the users’ funds disappearing from the wallet, he explained that the funds had been moved immediately after deposit.
The post, resharing the video, stated;
“Fun fact, the funds disappeared immediately you deposited. Not today. What you see are just numbers. All the daily activities you do to “trade”, to increase your money. All the AI trading, it’s all fake.
"Alas, Nigerians have gifted these guys about ₦1,337,021,554,889.20 trillion. And they are still asking for more."
What will happen to users paying verification fees?
The cybersecurity expert noted in the video that more funds may still be moved since some investors were still making deposits for verification.
"In reality, all the funds are gone unless people decide to pay the $100 and $200 verification fees."
He proposed that CBEX may use the verification funds being paid to pay out a few investors, to renew public hope in the scheme, and get others to pay as well.
With that done, more investors would come in, and the cycle would continue until an eventual crash.
Experts on the matter have already stated that the possibility of investors getting their funds back was next to zero.
CBEX collapses, trapping about $1 million investors' funds
In related news, reported that CBEX, an investment platform touted for giving 100% returns in 30 days, has allegedly crashed.
Almost a million dollars belonging to investors in several countries, including Nigeria, have been trapped on the platform.
While some Nigerian investors were lamenting on social media, some are said to have hit the streets, looting the CBEX office.
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