CBEX: Court To Rule On Promoters’ Bail Application June 30
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 30 to deliver its ruling on the bail applications filed by three detained promoters of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a digital investment platform accused of defrauding Nigerians of over $1bn.
The applicants, Adefowora Abiodun Olanipekun, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim, through their legal counsel, urged the court to order their release from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending the resolution of the criminal allegations against them.
Their arrest, along with that of three other suspects still at large, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede, was ordered by the court in a ruling delivered on April 24.
According to the EFCC, the accused persons, through their firm ST Technologies International Limited and under the guise of operating CBEX, orchestrated an elaborate Ponzi scheme.
The anti-graft agency said it received intelligence in April 2025 indicating that the platform was used to deceive members of the public with promises of extremely high returns on investment, up to 100%.
In an affidavit filed in support of an earlier ex-parte motion, the EFCC said victims were encouraged to convert their digital assets into the stablecoin USDT and deposit them into crypto wallets linked to the suspects.
Initially granted access to monitor their investments, the victims later found themselves locked out of the CBEX platform, unable to withdraw any funds.
The agency told the court that over $1bn was deposited into the scheme before it became inaccessible.
Investigators also discovered that ST Technologies, though registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, was not licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as an investment company. The EFCC further claimed the suspects had vacated their last known addresses in Lagos and Ogun States.
At Wednesday’s resumed proceedings, Defence counsels Babatunde Busari and Justice Otorudo based their bail applications on constitutional provisions and sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
They argued that their clients had voluntarily surrendered to the EFCC and had been detained for over 40 days without a formal charge, in violation of their constitutional rights.
They also dismissed claims that the applicants posed a flight risk, stressing that they should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Opposing the bail request, EFCC counsel informed the court that formal charges had been filed and emphasised the gravity of the alleged offence, noting that the defrauded sum exceeded the annual budgets of several Nigerian states.
The anti-graft also revealed that it continues to receive fresh petitions against the defendants.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, adjourned proceedings until June 30 for ruling on the bail applications.
CBEX: Court To Rule On Promoters’ Bail Application June 30 is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
