SNOOP COMMUNICATIONS

 

BANK OF HACKERS!

How Hackers Stole N2.95Billion From Sterling Bank’s Vault

Sterling Bank PLC may have become a big risk for customer’s deposit with the spates of fraudulent activities which has hit the bank in recent times.

This followed a detailed account of fraudulent and unethical banking practices which have seriously engendered customer’s lack of trust and confidence in the bank over the safe-keeping of their deposits.

Many of the bank’s customers are reportedly rattled by recent hacking of the bank’s vault by five suspected hackers who stole N1.25 billion and another N1.7 billion totaling N2.95 billion from the vault of the bank through insider’s connection.

The suspects were arraigned before Justice Louis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos over allegation of hacking into Sterling Bank’s PLS banking platform and Bance application to steal a total sum of One Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Six Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy Two Naira, Fifty Kobo ( N1.257, 536, 572.50).

The accused Victor Nwabueze Ugochukwu (50), Favour Odeh (22), Adekunle Daniel (24), Akachukwu Alagbogoand Ogunlade Yetunde were brought before the court on Friday 17^th January 2025 by operatives of Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) Ikoyi, Lagos.

Prosecutor Justine Enang informed the court the defendants in collaboration with unnamed internal staff of Sterling Bank and external accomplices committed the alleged offence on 3^rd and 4^th November 2024 by exploiting sensitive bank data and security system, unauthorized access point including IP addresses and device identifier.

According to Enang, their actions violated Section 7 (1) b and 14 (1) of the Cyber Crime Provision  Act 2015 as amended in 2004 as well as Section 18 (2) b and d of the Money Laundering Act 2022.

The defendants who pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, hacking and unlawful conversion of funds applied for bail through their legal counsel.

However, the prosecutor opposed the application, arguing that they posed a flight risk and citing multiple grounds to justify the objection.

Justice Luiz-Allagoa granted bail to each of the defendants in the sum of N50million with one surety of equal value. The surety must own landed property within the court’s jurisdiction.

He, however, ordered the defendants to remain in the custody at the Nigeria Correctional Services until their bail conditions are met. HE adjourned the trial to 13^th March 2025.    

This sad development comes on the heels of yet another discovery of insider’s compromise that is threatening to undermine the integrity of the bank as another bank official allegedly colluded with a businessman to siphon a huge sum of N1.7billion from a customer’s account in August 2021.

The case which was then being prosecuted at Ikeja High Court, Lagos detailed how an official of the bank, Ifeanyichukwu Shallom Isituah and a businessman, Ighodaro Austin Osaretin allegedly stole the sum of N1,790,558,000 belonging to a customer of the bank.

An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adamu Mohammed, told the court that the agency received a petition with reference No: SB/IAG/12/EFCC/011 duly signed by the Head IT and Head Intelligence and Investigation on behalf of Sterling Bank.

Mohammed, who works with the Team C Cybercrime Department of the EFCC, while testifying on oath, said the petitioner alleged that a customer’s bank account was profiled via internet banking and the sum of N1.790,558,0 00.00 was transferred to various individuals and companies.

While led in evidence by the prosecutor, N. M. Anana, the witness testified that preliminary investigation by the bank revealed that the second defendant’s profile, Isituah, a female, was used to initiate the account on internet banking and more than 24 accounts got the same amount of money.

“Investigation letters were sent to FCMB, Zenith, First Bank, Fidelity Bank and Access Bank. Responses were received from the banks and the statement of accounts were analysed. The analysis revealed that most of the company’s accounts the money was transferred to were BDCs (Bureaux de Change).

“Some of them reside in Abuja, Kaduna and there was one address that we suspected to live in Lagos, Ndifreke Roberts. But all efforts to trace the address of Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja suspects did not yield any information to help the commission get them.

“On March 10, 2020, the DSS handed over the two defendants to the commission under the instruction of the AGF (attorney-general of the Federation) for further investigation. The two defendants’ statements were voluntarily taken under caution.

“The first defendant revealed that he has a company called Universal Agriculture Empowerment Initiative as an NGO which received the sum of N60 million as part of the transfer from that Sterling Bank customer’s account. He further stated that the money was received from one Osaretin (second defendant) and transferred to his account as a donation.

“That he introduced one of his friends who is the owner of Villavon International School who also received N100m from the said fraud.

“He further stated that he called a BDC in the name of Damo who owns Damoo Ten Ventures. Damo was invited to the commission and he volunteered a statement that the first defendant contacted him and he transferred N60 million to various accounts and further instructed the owner of the International School to transfer N95 million.

“The dollar equivalent was received in cash by the first defendant. The first defendant further stated that the money was used at IDP camps around the country. I cannot remember the specific location but he mentioned a place in Borno and Adamawa”, the witness said.

However, during cross examination by the defence lawyer, A. Okenile, the EFCC operative said that Sterling Bank gave the commission the information that the second defendant profiled the account for the alleged fraud.

When asked what links the second defendant to the alleged fraud, Mohammed said, “The offence was committed at Sterling Bank and it was reported. The offence took place during a public holiday and the bank realized it on December 28. The accounts of the customer we are talking about has never been profiled for internet banking. So we had to understand how it was transferred, which was through internet banking.

“The bank said the account doesn’t have internet banking access and it was a staff that did it and the second defendant’s profile was used to connect the account to internet banking. Without that profiling money cannot be transferred from that account.

“Even when the bank tried to contact her, she ran away. She was nowhere to be found. Not until the Department of State Services (DSS) traced, arrested her and handed her over to the commission”.

Yet again, two fraudsters were accused of obtaining the sum of N1.8 billion from Sterling Bank Plc by false pretence.

The duo identified as Messrs Ogbor Kehinde Eliot and Kelvin Ejere Chris were on Monday, October 22, 2018, arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice O.A. Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

They were taken to court on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence.

The defendants, who were charged alongside a company, Danium Energy Services Limited, were alleged to have fraudulently deceived Sterling Bank Plc into lending them money through a fraudulent scheme with the pretence to finance local purchase of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel, for supply to Total Nigeria Limited.

The first defendant, Mr Eliot, an alleged serial fraudster, allegedly used his company, Danium Energy Services Limited, to obtain the facility from the bank and was said to have defaulted in repayment, which was expected from the proceeds of sales of the petroleum products by Sterling Bank.