Employee flees after stealing N40bn from First Bank

A First Financial institution worker recognized as Tijani Muiz Adeyinka is now on the run after diverting N40 billion on the financial institution’s head workplace crew in Iganmu, Lagos.

He allegedly diverted these funds to 98 financial institution accounts labeled as first beneficiaries, together with his spouse’s.

The financial institution, with a market capitalization of ₦829 billion, reported the incident to the Nigerian Police Drive on March 25, 2024, and obtained a number of court docket orders to freeze accounts related to the stolen funds.

As reported by Tech Cabal, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, the worker implicated within the scandal, held a managerial place within the digital merchandise crew at First Financial institution’s headquarters in Iganmu, Lagos. Adeyinka, now a fugitive, allegedly diverted roughly ₦40 billion (round $29 million) over two years.

He purportedly exploited his function to misappropriate funds by directing buyer reversal requests to a service provider account below his management. His capacity to finalize transactions with out further approvals allowed the scheme to go unnoticed.

The fraud got here to mild following a buyer grievance, prompting an inside evaluate by the financial institution’s management unit, which uncovered quite a few suspicious transactions. In response, First Financial institution alerted the police and pursued authorized measures to mitigate the monetary loss.

First Financial institution took proactive steps by acquiring three court docket orders between April 4 and April 8, 2024, to freeze lots of of accounts suspected of receiving the diverted funds. Among the many affected accounts have been 98 labeled as first beneficiaries, together with one belonging to Adeyinka’s spouse, in addition to quite a few second-tier accounts.

Courtroom paperwork revealed that Adeyinka routed funds to his spouse’s account at Zenith Financial institution, which then dispersed the cash throughout 34 further accounts. These accounts subsequently channeled the funds to 1,190 different accounts, creating a fancy community of transactions to obscure the origin of the stolen funds.

In a press release to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police dated Might 10, 2024, the financial institution affirmed its collaboration with regulation enforcement companies to uncover the circumstances surrounding the fraud and apprehend all people concerned.

“We hereby carry to your discover the invention of fraudulent transactions into numerous transactions inside and outdoors the financial institution and request your good places of work to arrange the equipment of investigation in place with a view to unravel the circumstances surrounding the mentioned fraud and get the culprits apprehending to face the wrath of the regulation,” learn a letter dated Might 10, 2024, from First financial institution to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

Fraud stays a giant concern in Nigeria’s monetary providers business. Whereas fintech startups obtain disproportionate scrutiny, the nation’s greatest banks are sometimes on the receiving finish of fraud assaults too. In 2023, Entry Financial institution misplaced ₦6.15 billion to fraud and Constancy Financial institution misplaced ₦2.5 billion in three incidents.