The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Elie Bitar, a foreign national, wanted for his alleged involvement in cryptocurrency fraud on the online trading platform Crypto Bridge Exchange, also known as CBEX.
The 41-year-old foreigner is wanted for a suspected fraudulent scheme carried out via CBEX, according to an official bulletin issued by the commission on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Hundreds of unsuspecting victims across Nigeria fell victim to the elaborate crypto fraud, which ran into over $1 billion.
“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 EFCC stated in the wanted notice signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.
The anti-graft agency revealed Bitar’s last known address is Eng. George Enemoh Crescent, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos State.
The commission urged any member of the public with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact one of its zonal offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja.
According to the EFCC, the public can also contact the commission by phone at 08093322644 or via email at info@efcc.gov.ng.
Bitar is the ninth suspect to be declared wanted in connection with the CBEX fraud, which has robbed scores of Nigerians of their investments.
The platform had promised users quick, high returns through crypto trading and investments, but observers raised a red flag over its lack of regulatory compliance and transparency before it eventually crashed.
So far, the EFCC investigation into the scheme has reportedly uncovered a trail of transactions linked to Bitar and individuals, some of whom have been arrested.
