CBEX: EFCC admits to error, drops Lebanese from wanted persons list

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) removed on Wednesday the name of Ellie Bitar, a Lebanese, from its list of suspects wanted for the CBEX Ponzi scheme fraud.

It said in a statement that it took the decision after receiving updated information regarding the case.

“Ellie Bitar of CBEX Solutions Ltd., who was earlier declared wanted, has since been removed from the list owing to new information that does not support his inclusion in the wanted person’s list,” EFCC said in the press statement by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale.

Mr Bitar, a Lebanese businessman, was among the persons EFCC has so far declared wanted after the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) platform crashed in April.

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In a now-deleted public notice, the anti-graft declared Mr Bitar, aged 41, wanted, disclosing his last known address as “Eng. George Enemoh Crescent, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos State.”

The agency also declared eight persons, comprising four Nigerians and four alleged foreign collaborators wanted in separate batches of the two categories of suspects last month.

CBEX, which introduced itself as a company established in Singapore in 2015 and a global digital asset trading platform, lured thousands of Nigerians with false promises of guaranteed returns on investments in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

EFCC, in a court document last month, stated that the promoters of the platform promised its unsuspecting investors an unrealistic return on investment of up to 100 per cent within 30 days.

Many of the investors lost their hard-earned money when the platform crashed last.

Intensified investigations

EFCC, in its statement on Wednesday, expressed confidence in its collaboration with international law enforcement agencies to track down the eight suspects that remain on its list wanted persons.

“The commission is making good progress in its investigations. Law enforcement agencies across the world are collaborating with it in tracking and arresting all the wanted persons,” the agency said.

But the statement did not provide the details of the international law enforcement agencies it was collaborating with or the search efforts.

Background

After the crash of CBEX, the EFCC declared eight persons wanted. The first batch comprised four Nigerians, Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede.

The second batch comprised foreigners, whose nationalities were not disclosed. They were Johnson Oteno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro, Serah Michiro.

The suspects were declared wanted after the EFCC obtained an order from the Federal High Court in Abuja for their arrest.

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Days later, the agency declared Mr Bitar wanted for his alleged involvement in the Ponzi scheme.

However, a report indicated that EFCC had made a mistake by naming Mr Bitar as one of those involved in the alleged fraud.

Wanted persons list controversy

Although, there is no recent instance of EFCC publicly admitting errors in declaring a person wanted, the agency has been compelled by the court to withdraw such a public notice in the past.

In 2018, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja ordered the anti-graft agency to remove the name of the Executive Vice Chairman of Aiteo Group, Benedict Peters, from its list of wanted persons.

Similarly in July 2024, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the EFCC to remove the name of Margaret Emefiele, wife of former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as a wanted person from its website.

Although, there is no recent instance of EFCC publicly admitting to errors in declaring a person wanted, the agency has been compelled by the court to withdraw such a public notice in the past.