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Despite warnings from experts and regulators, Nigerians still continue to fall for ponzi schemes after MMMWeb3 specialist Olayimika Oyebanji provided insight into why people continue to fall for scams despite past experienceHe claimed that although everyone could notice the warning signs, those who were harmed were inevitably going to ignore them
journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
After MMM, ponzi schemes surprisingly continue to sell in Nigeria despite warnings from regulators and experts who argue that genuine investments don’t give 100% in just a few days. In an interview with Olayimika Oyebanji, a Web3 expert, he gave an insight into the reason many keep falling for schemes despite previous experience.
Oyebanji described the CBEX scheme as nothing but a scam hiding in plain sight. He stated that all the warning signs were there for the world to see, but those who fell victim were bound to ignore them.
“Investing in cryptocurrency carries a lot of risks, and it gets a lot riskier when there are no regulations in place to protect investors.
“The CBEX scam is the result not of the lack of regulations, but of the investors’ failure to carry out due diligence before investing in such a questionable scheme.”
Hope for investors?
Speaking on the chances of investors getting back their money, Oyebanji stated that the familiar pattern of this heist and the opaque ownership structure of the scheme indicate that there is little or no chance for investors to recover their funds.
He advised that affected investors “look forward to the outcome of the SEC investigation right now,” adding that the event is “such a hard time for the victims and I hope they can move on quickly from their losses.”
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The MMM scam of 2016, which bore resemblance to the CBEX scam, is a compelling lesson of history that we must never forget.
“It is so unfortunate that we find ourselves in an economic situation that exploits our vulnerability to ponzi schemes, and this has made us a soft target for criminals who want to enter our huge cryptocurrency market. To avoid falling victim again, we must learn from this experience and outgrow our collective naivety.”
Red flags to watch out for?
The web3 expert advised that investors watch out for the registration status of a cryptocurrency platform before making any investment decisions, as any unregistered investment platforms be ignored.
He added that platforms without a registered office address in Nigeria should not be patronised.
Other red flags to be wary of are the unrealistic returns promised by crypto platforms, opaque ownership, cybersecurity risk profile, etc.
What the regulator is doing
According to the expert, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in charge of Nigeria's capital market, has remained steadfast in warning Nigerian investors of unregistered cryptocurrency platforms like CBEX. As a matter of fact, the Investment Security Act(ISA) of 2025, a newly enacted legislation, classifies crypto assets as securities under the purview of the SEC.
“What this means is that unregistered crypto investment schemes are illegal in Nigeria and operating without complying with the registration requirements is punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of twenty million naira.”
Former Buhari’s aide reacts as alleged ponzi scheme collapse
reported that Former Special Assistant to ex-president Muhammadu Buhari on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad, has reacted to the collapse of CBEX investment.
recalls that after days of trending on social media, CBEX, an investment platform, allegedly crashed.
Trillions of naira belonging to investors in several countries have been trapped on the platform.
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