A senior manager at First Bank's headquarters in Lagos has absconded with a staggering ₦40 billion (approximately $29 million) in an elaborate fraud scheme.
The culprit, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, who worked as the manager of the electronic products team, is now a fugitive on the run. Adeyinka, entrusted with handling fund transfer reversals, exploited his position to divert the massive sums to his own benefit.
According to the bank's reports, Adeyinka had sole decision-making power over transfer reversals, without the oversight of a team. Instead of properly processing these reversals, he funneled the funds into a Zenith Bank account owned by his wife.
Over a period of two years, Adeyinka managed to siphon an astonishing ₦40 billion, which he subsequently scattered across 1,190 different accounts. He also used some of the stolen funds to purchase cryptocurrencies.
The scam was finally uncovered when a customer insisted on resolving a non-reversal of funds, prompting an internal review by First Bank's control unit. The review exposed the numerous suspicious transactions carried out by Adeyinka.
First Bank, with a market capitalization of ₦829 billion, immediately reported the incident to the Nigerian Police Force on March 25, 2024, and obtained multiple court orders to freeze the accounts connected to the stolen funds.
The bank's investigation revealed that Adeyinka had routed the funds to his wife's account at Zenith Bank, which then dispersed the money across 34 additional accounts. These accounts subsequently channeled the funds to 1,190 other accounts, creating a complex network of transactions to conceal the origin of the stolen money.
In a statement to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, First Bank reiterated its commitment to collaborating with law enforcement agencies to uncover the full extent of the fraud and apprehend all individuals involved.