Examining CBEX: The Ponzi scheme that laundered cryptocurrency across different blockchains, all the while ripping off investors
In April 2025, the CBEX crypto Ponzi scheme, a large-scale fraudulent operation, collapsed, causing losses estimated at over ₦1.3 trillion (approximately $847 million) - one of Nigeria’s most devastating financial scams.
CBEX, a purported crypto trading platform, operated through a website and mobile app, primarily targeting investors in Africa, particularly Nigeria. The platform promised high returns but operated a classic Ponzi scheme, duping investors while secretly siphoning off their funds.
The fraudsters used the TRON blockchain to distribute the stolen funds into many wallets and convert them into various cryptocurrencies to obscure their origin. A sophisticated aspect of CBEX’s operation was its use of cross-chain money laundering techniques. Beginning in October 2024, user deposits mainly on the TRON blockchain were swapped to the Ethereum blockchain via cross-chain bridges, then moved back to TRON through a process called chain-hopping.
Cross-chain bridges, which provide cross-asset and cross-chain swapping services through smart contract protocols, are often favoured by criminals for anonymous laundering because they do not typically require customer identification (KYC).
One noteworthy entity that also received funds is Huione Pay, a Cambodian-based service designated as a 311 Primary Money Laundering Concern by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in May 2025. The volume of transactions and interactions with services like Huione Pay suggest that the funds may have been co-mingled with proceeds of other high-risk activities by third party brokers or money launderers on behalf of CBEX.
The Nigerian Senate launched a full-scale investigation in July 2025 into the scheme and the broader issue of Ponzi scams, condemning the regulatory failures by agencies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, SEC, NFIU, and EFCC.
To combat such complex cross-chain crypto laundering operations, a brand named Investigator offers a new report, "The state of cross-chain crime 2025", which discusses chain-hopping and how to overcome it, along with more case studies beyond CBEX. The brand also offers a report, "The state of crypto scams 2025", which discusses the threat posed by scams like CBEX to the wider crypto industry.
Using VVTEs (Virtual Value Transaction Events), the Investigator can identify and plot both the first and second stages of CBEX's chain-hopping (TRON to Ethereum and Ethereum back to TRON) in a matter of clicks, reducing a potential several-hour workload into mere minutes. The brand offers a demo to showcase VVTEs in action and how they can simplify complex investigations.
Sources:
- The Block
- Reuters
- Bloomberg
- Cointelegraph
- CoinDesk
- Elliptic, a leading blockchain analytics firm, revealed in their investigation that cross-chain investigations were vital in tracing funds laundered through CBEX's sophisticated operation.
- The integrated use of cross-chain bridges and chain-hopping techniques by CBEX raised concerns about the anonymity these methods offer in facilitating financial crimes, as reported in general-news outlets such as The Block and Cointelegraph.
- In light of the CBEX scam, the growing importance of blockchain forensics was underscored, with organizations like Investigator offering solutions for simplifying complex cross-chain investigations, as detailed in news pieces by Reuters and Bloomberg.
- Crimes like the CBEX scam have not only resulted in severe financial losses but also highlighted the urgent need for stricter regulations in the crypto industry to combat such activities, a matter recently addressed by Nigerian Senate investigations, as reported in news topics like finance and crime-and-justice.
- As part of its continuous commitment to financial integrity, Investigator's new reports, "The state of cross-chain crime 2025" and "The state of crypto scams 2025," emphasize the threat posed by scams like CBEX and provide insights into how to address such challenges, according to various industry news platforms, including CoinDesk.
