According to a report by Punch,
two men who claim to be undergraduates of University of Jos, Isaiah
Friday and Azzaior Samuel, have been arrested by the Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission for
allegedly stealing N2.05bn from union bank Two bureau de change
operators, Salihu Mahmoud and Dan Ibrahim, were also arrested in
connection with the alleged crime.
The Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said:
"Their arrest comes on the heels of a petition which the commission received from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Marina, Lagos, in January 2013, alleging that a criminal attack had been launched on its data base known as ‘Flexcube’, by yet-to-be-identified criminals who falsified the bank records and accounts and created unjustified huge opening balances in several accounts across the bank’s branches. They subsequently transferred funds from those accounts to several accounts in other banks. The petition, which was signed by one A.F Olufade, Head of Fraud Investigation at the bank, said cash withdrawals and electronic transfers totalling N2.05bn was involved in the scam.”
It was learnt that EFCC initial
investigation showed that Friday, who was carrying out computer system
maintenance services for one of the Union Bank branches in Jos, Plateau
State, on a part-time basis, paved the way for the fraudsters to
penetrate the bank’s database.
Uwujaren said, “Friday was traced and arrested. His arrest led to the arrest of Azaaior Samuel.
“Investigations further revealed that
Samuel introduced Friday to Mahmoud, who is the mastermind of the fraud
with others now at large.
“Mahmoud and other collaborators told
Friday that they needed access to the bank’s database in order to carry
out some postings. They promised to give Friday N.5m if the deal
succeeded.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that Friday agreed.
On the day the crime was committed, he told people at the bank that
Samuel was his colleague who had accompanied him to work.
It was learnt that after the gang had
succeeded in gaining access to the bank’s premises, it carried out the
postings to six different company accounts domiciled in Union Bank’s
Marina branch in Lagos.
Uwujaren said, “The accounts are Gona
Bureau De Change Limited, Jaxmine Bureau De Change Limited, Dan Kawu
Bureau De Change Limited, Godswill Great Communications, ZHG Services
Limited and A and B Console Limited. The postings were carried out and
the syndicate thereafter went to the bank to withdraw all the funds.
Friday was paid as promised and other syndicate members now at large
shared the remaining balance.”
The EFCC spokesman added that the commission had been able to recover $2,129,900 and another N134,542, from the fraudsters.
He said, “Other items recovered are
furniture worth N10m from Salihu Liman’s one bedroom apartment in Yaba,
Lagos; four vehicles, landed properties in Kano and Kaduna and a
four-bedroom duplex worth N45m in Lagos. Investigation into the scam continues.”
Source: Punch
