Investment scam: Olukoyede cautions public against negligence
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has advised members of the public to apply care in choosing where to invest their money so as to avoid being ripped off in fraudulent schemes.
He gave the advice in Abuja on Thursday at a Public Lecture in commemoration of the 2025 African Union Anti-corruption Day, themed, “Understanding Virtual Asset and Investment Fraud, held at the EFCC’s Headquarters.
According to Olukoyede, “Understanding virtual assets and investment fraud will not be complete without drawing serious attention to the role of investing public in breaking the opportunistic practices of fraudsters floating various schemes to defraud Nigerians. We are all aware of the hues and cries of many investors in CBEX that lost their funds to the shenanigans of the operators. This unfortunate situation is preventable. The lessons derivable from the CBEX situation are very clear: the investing public do inadvertently aid fraudulent practices through lack of due diligence on schemes advertised to them. Another lesson is that investors hardly send suspicious transaction reports to the EFCC until they are defrauded. We must understand that no investment scam can succeed without the negligence of investors.”
He further noted that “Investment fraud, like virtual assets fraud, is spreading like wildfire across Africa,” adding that “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. Ponzi schemes rank as one of the most pervasive of such acts.”
He linked the rise in virtual assets fraud in the country to the designs of rogue politicians, who now use them to shield and secure their ill-gotten wealth. “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. Stolen funds and unexplained wealth are being warehoused in wallets and payments for services are being done through this window. Investment schemes are also being facilitated through it,” he said.
While noting that cryptocurrency and virtual assets were not designed as tools of crime, but products of the Digital Age, he regretted that criminals put them to wrong use. “Virtual assets are not fundamentally criminal. It is when they are wrongfully or fraudulently used that they become criminal. Technology is moving at a supersonic speed around the world. The advent of virtual assets is a response to one of the qualities of money as a store of value. However, as with every progressive innovation, fraudsters usually evolve ways of perverting their genuine purposes.”
Olukoyede reaffirmed the readiness of the EFCC to match every challenge that cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets throw up in the system. “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 investigation and prosecution of the infamous CBEX scam,” he said.
The governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso in his speech, delivered by Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, deputy governor Economic Policy, noted that the present era of rapid technological transformation has made the adoption of digital financial services in Nigeria, including cryptocurrencies and tokenized investments increase exponentially. The surge in digital innovation, he said, “has brought benefits, such as greater financial inclusion and also given rise to complex challenges, such as fraud and money laundering.”
Giving a breakdown of cryptocurrency usage in the country in recent times and their application in financial fraud, he disclosed that “In Nigeria, over $56 billion in crypto-related transactions were recorded between July 2022 and June 2023, making us Africa’s digital transaction leader. But this growth is not without consequences. The CBN Financial Stability Report 2024 reveals a 45% surge in financial fraud cases, with 70% of losses linked to digital channels, including unregulated virtual asset platforms. Furthermore, over 30 ponzi-style investment schemes exploiting digital currency narratives have been flagged by the SEC and other agencies. These developments pose major risks, including loss of consumer confidence, weakening of financial integrity and reputational challenges for Nigeria in the global financial system.”
