TRENDING: How I lost N10 million to CBEX

Fuji star Taye ‘Taye Currency’ Adebisi has narrated how he lost N10 million to the forex trading platform, Cryptocurrency Exchange (CBEX).

PREMIUM TIMES reported that CBEX, a Singapore-based company founded in 2015, crashed on 15 April after Nigerians who invested in the platform claimed they were logged out and couldn’t access their money.

In a viral video on Friday, the Ibadan-born singer recounted his ordeal during a stage performance.

Taye Currency, the first celebrity to admit investing funds in Cbex, blamed some associates for luring him into the scheme.

Narrating how he lost millions to the scheme, investors said it promised a 100 per cent return on investment within just one month, using a minimum trading capital of $100; Taye Currency noted: “CBEX took N10 million from me, and you will all hear how it happened. If I don’t speak out, I might develop high blood pressure. I can’t keep it to myself—and if it were possible to keep it in, I would have, but it’s not.

“On April 1, Sodiq came to my house and said that Lateef, the band manager, had collected some money and introduced Alaba and another brother to it, making four people total. Alaba even used the N1.2 million he stole from the stage to invest. Brother Muca also put in his work fee—N500,000. Sodiq invested N850,000, and Lateef put in N1.4 million.”

Eagerness

The 50-year-old said the positive reviews about CBEX from his associates led him to invest his money.

“They were the ones in charge of my money. It would have been better if they hadn’t invited me to invest. Lateef said he used N200,000 to collect N600,000, and I got excited and eager to invest.

“I asked how much, then went to collect the money I had been saving with the insurance company. See my life outside. It was on April 1 that I invested N10 million in CBEX—and it crashed. All of you who made me invest, it shall not be well with you”, he said.

This newspaper reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in response to the CBEX crash, noted that it warned Nigerians against unregistered trading platforms.

SEC, in a statement, stated that the newly enacted Investments and Securities Act 2025 makes it illegal to operate digital asset exchanges or online foreign exchange trading platforms without formal registration with the Commission.

The agency said, “By this Act, it is an offence in Nigeria for any entity that is not registered by the commission to carry out the business of online foreign exchange trading platforms or related services.”

According to the SEC, operating a Ponzi scheme now carries a minimum penalty of N20 million, with 10 years or more jail terms under the new law.

Background

This newspaper reported that CBEX was not the first Ponzi scheme Nigerians had ever invested in.

In 2016, Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM), founded by Sergei Mavrodi, a Russian, defrauded Nigerians of billions of naira.

MMM promised investors a 30 per cent monthly return. It attracted over three million Nigerians desperate for financial gain.

The investment came despite the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s (CBN) warnings. The initial returns from early deposits boosted the scheme’s popularity.

READ ALSO: CBEX: Another Ponzi scheme leaves Nigerians in tears

However, investors began experiencing difficulties withdrawing their funds as Christmas approached.

In December, the scheme collapsed. MMM froze all accounts, citing system overload to prevent problems during the Yuletide.

The crash of MMM wreaked unprecedented havoc across the country. Many were left penniless, and some even took their own lives.