Court grants final forfeiture of N326m, $480,000 stolen from Union Bank

Court

The federal high court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of over N2 billion and other assets linked to a fraud scheme that illegally diverted funds from Union Bank customers.

Daniel Osiagor, the presiding judge, on Friday granted the final forfeiture following an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In May, the judge granted interim forfeiture of the assets.

According to the anti-graft agency, the investigation uncovered a fraudulent withdrawal of over N2 billion from the accounts of 575 unsuspecting customers of the bank.Hanatu Kofar-Naisa, EFCC counsel, urged the court to permanently forfeit the funds and assets to the federal government since they are proceeds of unlawful activities.

The assets forfeited include N326.4 million and $480,000 in cash, a 3-bedroom bungalow at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana Gwarimpa, Abuja, a house at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa, Abuja, and multiple high-end vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz C300, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers, and three Toyota Hilux pickups.

THE AFFIDAVIT

The affidavit to support the EFCC’s application was deposed by Sulaiman Muhammad, an investigating officer of the anti-graft agency.

In the affidavit, Muhammad said the fraud was “monumental” and targeted dormant or “no-debit” accounts within Union Bank.

He said the EFCC commenced an investigation after receiving a petition from Union Bank on October 24, 2022, about how its systems were fraudulently manipulated to facilitate unauthorised debits on customer accounts.