A number of Kenyans using the popular CBEX cryptocurrency and forex trading platform have seen their investments vanish after their accounts were drained, local reports indicate.
CBEX had recently drawn significant interest from users in Kenya and West Africa by offering promises of AI-driven high returns, attractive referral bonuses, and hassle-free withdrawals. The platform claimed investors could earn up to 30% in just one month.
Now, several Kenyan users are facing financial losses after their crypto accounts were completely emptied over the weekend.
“Today morning, I woke up with like $6,000 (KES 777,680) in my crypto wallet. But at around 7 PM, it had been cleared to zero,” one user whose account was wiped out on CBEX told a local media outlet.
“Several of my relatives and friends have also reported clearing on their accounts and it is terrible,” the CBEX user added.
Similar issues have also been reported in Nigeria, where CBEX has most of its users, as well as in Egypt. The hardest-hit individuals appear to be those who traded cryptocurrencies using the platform’s AI system.
The CBEX team has attributed the loss of funds to supposed security breaches affecting the AI-driven trading platform.
“After thorough investigation, we have discovered that some malicious fraud platforms have used hacking methods to implement targeted attacks on our trading system, deliberately conducting operations that are contrary to the signals of the AI trading system, severely disrupting the market order,” the company said in a message to the affected client via the Telegram messenger platform.
“Those attackers employed various tactics, including massive “full-margin” operations to collectively hedge and suppress the market at the moment AI systems trading signals,” it claimed.
CBEX assured users that they would be reimbursed for their losses after their accounts had been successfully verified.
“We are fully aware that a large number of individuals have suffered losses, and therefore we need to provide sufficient time to resolve this matter. The deadline is three days from now, ending at 23.59 UK time on the 17th (April 2025),” the platform said.
“Any accounts that have not been confirmed and claimed within the timeframe will be treated as fraudulent accounts associated with scammers and will be permanently banned, with no further claims accepted in the future,” CBEX added.
However, in a move that has further unsettled users, the CBEX team announced that account holders would be required to pay a verification fee before any processing could begin.
Users with account balances below $1,000 (KES 129,613) must pay $100 (KES 12,961), while those with more than $1,000 are being asked to pay $200 (KES 25,929) for verification.
“After depositing, compensation will be credited within 1-24 hours,” CBEX said.
Crypto scams have become increasingly common in Kenya with millions of dollars lost over the last few years. In 2022, the then Minister of ICT, Joe Mucheru, revealed that in just one year alone, Kenyans had lost over $120 million to crypto scams.
[WATCH] Kenyans🇰🇪 Lost $120 million (USD) in the Last Financial Year to Cryptocurrency Scams, Says ICT Cabinet Minister, @mucheru https://t.co/0HXZmwfSin @MoICTKenya #Scams
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 14, 2022
Speaking to the press, Mucheru said:
“In the last financial year, did you know that Kenyans lost about $120 million (USD) in scams on cryptocurrencies?
That’s a crime!
Its being reported out there and many Kenyans are getting caught up in many of these things and end up suffering on their own because they’re not getting all the information.”
– Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Kenya
The Kenya Virtual Assets Service Providers Bill 2025 seeks to mitigate some of these issues by enhancing consumer protection, market conduct, and operations of virtual asset activities and virtual asset service providers by requiring players to offer awareness and build capacity among consumers.
🇰🇪 REGULATION | The Kenya Virtual Assets Providers Bill 2025 Gets Gazetted Ready for Discussion in Parliament
The bill avoids regulating specific aspects of the crypto industry, particularly fiat-backed #stablecoins. https://t.co/d8iWHlVtSc @KeTreasury pic.twitter.com/u23jIgK9yW
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 8, 2025
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