Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has launched a cross-border manhunt for four Kenyans suspected of orchestrating a cryptocurrency and forex trading scam that has left scores of investors across Africa counting losses.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday published names and photographs of eight individuals wanted in connection with a suspected fraud on the now-defunct Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a platform that targeted users in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt with promises of rapid wealth through artificial intelligence-backed trading and extravagant referral bonuses.

“The public is hereby notified that the persons whose photographs appear above are suspected foreign accomplices wanted by the EFCC for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX),” the watchdog said in a public notice.

The four Kenyans wanted by Nigerian authorities are John Okiroh Otieno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro Kabera, and Serah Michiro. All had reportedly been residing in Lagos prior to the collapse of the scheme.

They are being sought alongside four Nigerians: Seyi Oloyede, Emmanuel Uko, Adefowora Oluwanisola, and Adefowora Abiodun Olaonipekun.

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CBEX attracted thousands of users across the continent, promising returns of up to 30 per cent in just 30 days.

The platform’s marketing strategy hinged on the allure of high-yield investments allegedly powered by artificial intelligence, alongside an aggressive referral system that encouraged rapid user onboarding.

However, what began as an opportunity to build wealth quickly unravelled.

Many users reported being locked out of their accounts, unable to access or withdraw funds from their digital wallets.

As complaints mounted, the platform’s physical office in Nigeria was abruptly shut, leaving no trace of its operators.

Nigerian authorities later established that CBEX had never obtained a licence to operate as a digital asset exchange in Nigeria or elsewhere on the continent.

According to the Securities Exchange Commission, the firm had “engaged in promotional activities to create a false perception of legitimacy, in order to entice unsuspecting members of the public into investing monies, with the promise of implausibly high guaranteed returns within a short timeframe.”

The EFCC has since enlisted the support of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to assist in locating and prosecuting the suspects.

While the scale of the financial losses remains unclear, there is no official figure for how much investors, particularly in Kenya, lost.

Kenyan authorities have so far remained silent on the matter and have not launched any formal investigation into the platform.

As the search intensifies, victims across multiple countries continue to wait for answers—many still clinging to a sliver of hope that justice might help recover the funds lost to a platform that once promised digital prosperity.