Saturday, August 8, 2015

How Zenith, Access banks, exposed N3.6bn fraud

Eagle eyed bank officials attached to Zenith bank and Access have been able to expose bank officials who work with a syndicate in defrauding banks.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, arrested the duo of Kato Ifrahimu Nyam and Godwin Odali, both staff of a new generation bank for conspiring to defraud the bank to the tune of N3.6bn with an e-payment mandate purportedly from Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The EFCC image maker, Wilson Uwujaren, said that the suspects, who operate as syndicate, sometime in June 2015, through their cronies submitted an e-payment mandate of N1.4bn to Zenith bank and Access bank Plc.
Uwujaren said: “The banks, sensing a foul play after noticing some abnormalities on the e-payment mandate discreetly contacted the Ministry of Agriculture for confirmation and authentication of the document. A response from the Ministry showed that, no mandate was sent to the banks. Hence, the EFCC was contacted for investigation.”
Uwujaren said that while the investigation was underway, the suspects in furtherance of their dubious acts submitted another e-payment mandate of N1.398bn to Zenith bank, Abuja branch though one Abiola Oloko, an accomplice.
In the process, Oloko was arrested by EFCC operatives.
“On arrest, Oloko confessed that, they’ve had several meetings to arrange and perfect ‘the deal.’ Oloko, who claimed to be a job seeker said, he was lured into the business by the bank officials whom he claimed gave him an identity card of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to answer the false name “Femi Babatunde”, but with his real passport photograph affixed to it.”
Uwujaren said that the suspects would soon be arraigned in court as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded.

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