First Bank Manager On The Run For Allegedly Diverting $29m
A staff of one of Nigeria’s first generation banks, First Bank Nigeria Plc, is on the run over alleged diversion of $29 million (N829 billion) into private accounts one of which belongs to his wife..
The fleeing staff, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, worked at the Iganmu branch of the bank.
The extent of the fraud which reports said went on for about two years is rocking the bank to its foundation as it struggles to meet the recapitalisation requirements recently put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to investigations, the initial amount of the stolen money was put at N12 billion but has grown to a staggering amount of N40 billion after further investigation by the bank.
The extent of the fraud which reports said went on for about two years is rocking the bank to its foundation as it struggles to meet the recapitalisation requirements recently put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to gazellenews, the initial amount of the stolen money was put at N12 billion but has grown to a staggering amount of N40 billion after further investigation by the bank
Muiz was a manager in the Electric Products team of the bank and exploited his role’s authority to process customer reversals. Instead of crediting legitimate reversal requests, he allegedly funneled funds into accounts under his control, evading detection for nearly two years.
The fraud was however uncovered after a customer complaint led to an internal investigation, revealing numerous suspicious transactions.
After conducting its internal investigation, the Bank informed the police on the incident seeking further investigation into the matter.
First Bank thus reported the incident to the Nigerian Police Force on March 25, 2024, and subsequently secured court orders between April 4 and April 8, 2024, to freeze hundreds of accounts implicated in the fraud.
Court documents and police statements indicate that Muiz directed funds to his wife’s Zenith Bank account, which were subsequently dispersed to 34 additional accounts and further distributed to 1,190 other accounts across various banks. This extensive network complicated the investigation and recovery efforts.
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