On Thursday, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, urged Nigerians to exercise caution when considering investment opportunities, warning that negligence is often a key enabler of fraud.
He gave this advice during a public lecture at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, themed “Understanding Virtual Asset and Investment Fraud, “to mark the 2025 African Union Anti-Corruption Day.
EFCC boss cites CBEX as a warning sign
Olukoyede pointed to the CBEX scheme, where many investors lost substantial funds. According to him, “the investing public does inadvertently aid fraudulent practices through lack of due diligence on schemes advertised to them.”
He lamented that investors hardly send suspicious transaction reports to the EFCC until they are defrauded, stressing that no investment scam can succeed without investors’ negligence.
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He described the spread of investment and virtual asset fraud across Africa as a wildfire, noting that Ponzi schemes remain among the most pervasive methods employed by scammers.
“Fraudsters are exploiting vulnerabilities of desperate investors to defraud them through various dishonest schemes. Every exploitation of investors in any guise is considered a fraudulent act,” Olukoyede said.
He further warned that politicians increasingly used cryptocurrencies to hide illicit wealth and fund fraudulent schemes.
“Our findings showed that fraudulent politicians are already perfecting schemes and hiding their loot in cryptocurrencies to beat the investigative dragnets of anti-corruption agencies,” he said, adding that payments for services and investments are now often conducted through digital wallets to obscure transactions.
While acknowledging that cryptocurrencies and virtual assets are not inherently criminal, Olukoyede stressed that their misuse is the real threat.
“Virtual assets are not fundamentally criminal. It is when they are wrongfully or fraudulently used that they become criminal,” he noted.
He reaffirmed their readiness to confront these emerging challenges, stating, “For us at the EFCC, virtual assets fraud and investment scam are not hard nuts to crack. Proactive and broad-based training and intelligence are bringing fraudulent schemes to the fore. We are ahead in every material sense and there is enormous proof of operational successes in this regard, especially the breakthrough in the investigation and prosecution of the infamous CBEX scam.”
A wake-up call for African governments on crypto regulation
As more people turn to digital assets for investment and financial freedom, scammers are exploiting the lack of regulation to steal billions.
It’s no longer just about fake investment platforms; today, we’re seeing deepfake scams and crypto fraud evolve faster than African systems can handle.
South Africa is stepping up. Its Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) just announced it’s investing R200 million over the next 18 months to strengthen its ability to track, monitor, and crack down on digital fraud. This is exactly the kind of bold, forward-thinking action the rest of the continent urgently needs to follow, as the EFCC has raised the alarm.
Ghana and Kenya are also trying to control the spread of crypto scams. But piecemeal actions aren’t enough. Millions of Africans are vulnerable, and without clear rules and strong enforcement, the fraud will only get worse.
Governments must stop dragging their feet. Regulating virtual assets isn’t about slowing innovation; it’s about protecting people, restoring trust, and ensuring new technology helps the citizens.