By Adedapo Adesanya

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating an alleged fraud perpetrated on thousands of Nigerians by a digital investment platform, CryptoBank Exchange (CBEX).

According to EFCC spokesperson, Mr Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency has launched a probe, in collaboration with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and other international partners, to track the perpetrators of the Ponzi scheme operator.

It was speculated that the company went away with investors’ funds to the tune of N1.3 trillion.

Checks by Business Post indicate many Nigerians lost a huge amount of money to CBEX, with some still in shock on how they fell prey.

Earlier, this newspaper reported that offices of the company in Ibadan and a few other places in Nigeria were looted by some aggrieved investors following news that the company has shut down its services.

For the EFCC, it has now stepped in after receiving calls from different quarters over the incident, according to Mr Oyewale during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

“Concerning this CBEX thing, we’re on it; it’s not that we didn’t know, and you know we’ve been alerting Nigerians about ways and means to separate themselves from this type of shenanigans. So, before the calls came, we were working; while the calls were coming, we were working, and even after the calls, we’re still working.

“I can assure you that all of the profiling we need to do, contacts that we need to make, and some collaborative engagement that we need to make, we’re already doing that. We’re in contact with Interpol. We’re in contact with our development partners,” he stated.

He also said legislation like the recently passed Investment and Securities Act (2025) will help crackdown on Ponzi schemes.

According to the Act, it is criminal to engage in any digital trading activity without being licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and complying with all the extant laws, as any form of exchange or business engagement must conform to the provisions provided.

“This has empowered us as a commission because we know that with the ISA 2025, it’s so easy for us if you’re involved in some kind of engagement and you’re not licensed and you’re not compliant with extant laws; I mean, it’s a straight thing. We will act accordingly, and we’ll bring such people to justice,” he said.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, April 16, as the market capitalisation remained unchanged at N1.915 trillion as well as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) at 3,271.02 points.

At the trading session, there was no price gainer or decliner.

The bourse’s data showed a decrease of 95.0 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 36,757 units from the 736,215 units recorded in the previous trading day, the value of transactions slid by 83.6 per cent to N1.99 million from N12.1 million transacted on Tuesday, and the number of deals fell by 19.2 per cent to 21 deals from the 26 deals recorded a day earlier.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.

Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with the sale of 14.7 million units worth N568.1 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira witnessed a N1.76 or 0.11 per cent depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 16.

During the trading session, the local currency was exchanged with the greenback at N1,603.16/$1, in contrast to the N1,601.40/$1 it was traded a day earlier, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Also, the Nigerian currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N6.71 to quote at N2,121.97/£1 compared with the previous day’s value of N2,115.26/£1 and tumbled against the Euro by N9.28 to sell for N1,818.17/€1 versus Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,808.89/€1.

In the parallel market, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar to finish at N1,620/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,615/$1.

The pressure on the domestic currency came as the central bank sold over $30.00 million at rates between N1,590.00/$ and N1,601.50/$ this week to authorised forex dealers.

At the cryptocurrency market, things turned bullish as the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr Jerome Powell, dashed hopes for early rate cuts, citing the need to assess the impact of US tariffs on the global economy.

The Federal Reserve chair also mentioned that the US central bank needed more time to see the effects of tariffs play out in the global economy. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

Market analysts noted that the remarks disappointed rate cuts optimist by stressing focus on protecting against tariff-driven price hikes from driving a long-term rise in inflation expectations.

Solana (SOL) jumped by 7.2 per cent to trade at $134.28, Cardano (ADA) added 2.8 per cent to close at $0.6209, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $0.1570, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 2.1 per cent to $1,602.70, Ripple (XRP) gained 1.9 per cent to close at $2.09, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.5 per cent to $84,749.46, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.7 per cent to $583.08.

But Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.7 per cent to finish at $75.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.