The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a 41-year-old foreign national, Elie Bitar, wanted in connection with a cryptocurrency fraud allegedly carried out through the online trading platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX).
According to a public notice issued by the EFCC, Bitar is wanted for his alleged role in orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme that exploited the CBEX platform to defraud thousands of Nigerian investors. The platform, which reportedly collapsed in April, is said to have wiped out over N1.3 trillion from users’ digital wallets.
“The public is hereby notified that Elie Bitar, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX),” the Commission stated.
The EFCC’s ongoing investigation has uncovered a network of transactions linked to Bitar and other individuals, some of whom have already been apprehended. The Commission has also disclosed Bitar’s last known address as Eng. George Enemoh Crescent, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State.
Authorities have called on members of the public with any information regarding Bitar’s whereabouts to contact any of the EFCC’s zonal offices located in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja.
The EFCC continues to intensify its investigation, promising that all perpetrators will be brought to justice.
