Over a month after the Crypto Bridge Exchange trading platform (CBEX) defrauded Nigerians of N1.3tn, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, said the agency has recovered some reasonable amount of money.
Though the recovered sum was undisclosed, Olukoyede said the stolen money was in cryptocurrency, and the agency has managed to trace and recover part of it.
Speaking in an interview with TVC, Olukoyede noted that converting the dollar funds back into cash was difficult because it required going through similar crypto processes.
He said, “We have gone far with CBEX. We have been able to recover a reasonable amount of money.
“Even though in the crypto wallet, the same way the money was taken from them. There is no way you will get them in dollars. There is no way you can get the dollars in cash without necessarily going through the same process.
“We have gone far. We have made reasonable arrests. We are not going to give out much because we don’t want the process to be disrupted. We are still after several people we have declared wanted.”
Speaking further, he highlighted the challenges faced by the agency in apprehending the fraudsters.
According to him, they used “non-custodial wallets,” which means there was no identity attached to the accounts.
He said, “We are still investigating a lot of wallets and the wallets they created are called non-custodian wallets; in other words, no KYC. So, you can’t trace it to anybody.
“So, from the non-custodial wallet, they moved it to some wallets in Europe, Eastern Europe, particularly Cambodia, and from there, they dispersed the money. We have been able to block some of these wallets where money has not been dispersed.
“That is to the extent that we have gone. I even learnt that there are still some of these perpetrators and Nigerians are still falling victim. I believe people should learn from this.”
In another development, Olukoyede pleaded with Nigerians not to condemn Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, over the alleged naira mutilation during his 54th birthday celebration.
THE WHISTLER had reported that Nigerians criticized the EFCC for allegedly applying double standards in enforcing the law against naira abuse.
Speaking on the outcome of the agency’s findings, Olukoyede confirmed that Tompolo had been invited for questioning and stated that he should not be labelled guilty until the case is concluded.
According to him, it is a mere allegation and the viral video has been subjected to forensic analysis.
Olukoyede said, “We have invited Tompolo, the whole of Nigeria knows that, and we said there is no human that is above the law.
“Nobody should go and condemn Tompolo for the allegation. It’s a mere allegation for now. We have subjected the video to forensic analysis because these days, people can impose… you know?
“Not until we conclude the case, we cannot say whether Tompolo is guilty or not. We must give every Nigerian fair hearing or benefit of doubt.”
