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

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.

Muhammad said a follow-up petition in July 2023 revealed that the amount stolen had increased to N2,007,000,000.

The officer added the bank’s audit unit had identified suspicious transactions involving 575 accounts placed on a ‘no-debit’ status, which were nonetheless debited using methods inconsistent with normal banking procedures.

The investigating officer said two companies—Actus Homes Limited and Fav Oil and Gas Limited—were central to the scheme.

He added that the funds were transferred into the accounts of the two companies without any legitimate commercial relationship with the customers.

According to Muhammad, Actus Homes Limited was found to have received N681.2 million from 126 customer accounts, while Fav Oil and Gas Limited received a cumulative N1.388 billion from 429 accounts.

He added that investigations revealed neither company had applied for or received loans from the bank, nor did they render any service that would justify the inflow of such large sums.

The officer said the funds were subsequently used to acquire real estate and luxury automobiles, all now forfeited by the court.

He added that the agency was able to trace N887.4 million that had been transferred into various bank accounts, noting that large cash sums, including those discovered in a black Escalade vehicle, now forfeited, were recovered.

The investigation officer also said Union Bank managed to salvage N519.1 million, which remained untouched in some of the accounts flagged during the audit.

He said the main suspects in the fraudulent scheme are already facing trial in a separate criminal proceeding.