Business

How Heritage Bank, MTN Officials defrauded customers of N150 million

Published

7 years ago

July 11, 2017

For one of the newest entrants into the Nigeria’s banking industry, Heritage Bank Plc and embattled telecommunications firm, MTN Nigeria , these are not the best of times as the duo has continued to swim in the sea of controversies. And as it stands, the bank and the telecoms outfit are fast becoming safe havens for fraudulent officials.

Reports available to TheIcon indicate that officials of Heritage Bank, which came into existence under a new name just a few years ago, is currently on the top watch of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In a stunning development after nearly three months of investigation, the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) on Monday July 10, 2017 arrested 11 suspected fraudsters, including three Heritage Bank officials and two MTN employees over N150 million fraud.

This newspaper gathered that they were allegedly siphoning money from bank accounts using phone numbers linked to customers account obtained from shady MTN workers. Police said the gang was working across the country.

Communications giant, MTN, has been rocked by revelations about the improprieties of staff who help criminals to swap SIM cards of targeted bank customers.

The unit’s spokesman, ASP Lawal Audu confirmed the arrest at the unit’s office in Ikoyi, Lagos disclosing that staff of Heritage Bank and the MTN have secretly run an information sharing business robbing unsuspecting bank customers of millions of naira.

The fraud unit describes how scores of unknowing victims from the bank have been snookered by the bank and communications outfit.

The suspected bankers are Oyelade Shola-Isaac, 32, Osuolale Hammid, 40, and Akeem Adesina, 33, while the network service provider’s employees include Okpetu John, 29, Chukwumnoso Ifeanyi, 30 and Salako Abdulsalam, (ICT specialist), 30.

Other suspects were Ismaeel Salami, 49, Akinola Oghuan, 34, Sarumi Abubakar, 32, James Idagu, 56, and Sunday Okeke, 33. The unit spokesman stressed that they were all arrested in Lagos, Ibadan and Ilorin.

Audu noted that the job of the banker’s suspects was to provide the syndicates with information of the bank customers with funded accounts that were not into internet banking.

He said that the network provider’s suspects assist to swap the SIM cards (GSM numbers) of the targeted bank customers so that they will be unable to receive alert of any transactions on their accounts within the period that their accounts were being siphoned.

The spokesman said the suspects transferred the money siphoned into about 40 other accounts with ATMs in different other banks. Audu said that the suspects usually carry out their operations during the weekends and public holidays to evade being detected by the bank monitoring mechanisms or the owners of targeted funded accounts.

“The effort of the police team eventually paid off when the same group was holding their final meeting at eateries along Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos on the concluded plan to unleash another monumental fraud on unsuspecting customers.

“Their plan was to defraud other new generation banks between May 26 and 29, 2017. Detectives stormed the venue during which one of the major kingpins claimed to be Alhaji Ismaeel Salami and four members of the syndicate were arrested.

“Thirty-five ATM cards affixed with account numbers and passwords were immediately recovered from them.

“It was, however, revealed that this criminal syndicate usually sourced these bank ATM cards from their owners, especially among the vulnerable youths deceiving them to release their ATM cards, account numbers and passwords for eventual monetary rewards based on the amount their card receive,” he said.

The spokesman, therefore, advised members of the public to be careful of fraudster’s activities, warning them against giving out bank detains to strangers.

Audu said that the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.

A police investigator said details emerged of astonishing levels of malfeasance at the MTN as regards to diverting customers calls. Speaking under the condition of anonymity she said the South African-owned telecoms company has become synonymous with fraud on the most massive (and global) of scales.

“The extent of MTN staff crimes, chronicled in detailed investigation in this case is breathtaking,” she concluded.

All attempts to speak with the spokesperson for

Heritage Bank, Mr. Fela Ibidapo proved futile as his mobile line was not reachable, while MTN Funso Aina neither picked his calls nor responded to text message sent to his mobile phone.

Business

Wema Bank Announces Grand Finale of Hackaholics 5.0: Set to Reward Winners With ₦75 Million Worth of Prizes

Published

35 minutes ago

November 15, 2024

Sahara Weekly

*Wema Bank Announces Grand Finale of Hackaholics 5.0: Set to Reward Winners With ₦75 Million Worth of Prizes

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative financial institution and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the grand finale of the 5th edition of its flagship youth and startup-focused tech competition, Hackaholics.

Launched in 2019, Wema Hackaholics is a groundbreaking initiative designed to harness the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of Nigeria’s youth, providing them with a platform to turn their tech-driven ideas into reality. The highly anticipated Hackaholics 5.0 grand finale will take place on November 27th, 2024, under the theme, “Meta Idea: Capitalizing Africa’s Growth Through Innovation.” This year’s theme aims to showcase how tech-driven solutions can fuel Africa’s development by tapping into the continent’s growth potential through innovation and digital transformation.

The grand finale will bring together the brightest innovators from universities and tech communities across the country. These innovators will pitch their Digi-Tech solutions designed to solve real-world problems and contribute to Africa’s economic and social progress. The event promises to be the culmination of months of intensive competition, collaboration, and mentorship, providing a platform for youth-led tech ideas to reach new heights.

Announcing the date of the grand finale, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, highlighted the bank’s vision for Hackaholics. “Hackaholics is more than a competition; it is a movement to equip Nigeria’s youth with the skills, networks, and resources needed to drive Africa’s digital transformation. The Meta Idea theme for this year is a call to action for young innovators to think beyond the present and design solutions that will capitalize on Africa’s growth. We are excited to see how our participants envision and build the Africa of tomorrow.”

Speaking on the prizes, the MD/CEO said “At the grand finale, participants will compete for exciting cash prizes, grants, and access to Wema Bank’s extensive network of investors, mentors, and industry experts. The total worth of prizes for this year is ₦75,000,000. The winning team will receive ₦30,000,000, the first runner-up will receive ₦20,000,000 and the second runner-up will receive ₦15,000,000 worth of prizes. Additionally, we will be awarding a special grant of ₦10,000,000 worth of prizes to the female-led team to encourage gender diversity in tech innovation.” He concluded.

Wema Bank’s Hackaholics is a testament to the Bank’s commitment to shaping Africa’s future through innovation and entrepreneurship. Hackaholics 5.0 began with a nationwide call for entries earlier in the year and has engaged over 10,000 aspiring tech innovators and entrepreneurs across Nigeria. With 2,297 applications across 8 physical pitch centers and 1 virtual pitch center, 34 innovators across all locations are set to pitch their ideas at the pre-pitch stage ahead of the grand finale scheduled to hold in Lagos.

Through Hackaholics, Wema Bank has provided a platform for youth to channel their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit into actionable tech solutions that address Africa’s most pressing challenges. Over the years, Hackaholics has grown into one of the largest and most influential tech competitions in Nigeria, impacting thousands of young minds.

The competition not only offers winners cash prizes and grants, but also access to mentorship, industry networks, and resources to help scale their innovations globally. This initiative is a key part of Wema Bank’s broader strategy to harness technology as a driver of socio-economic growth in Africa.
Interested individuals can register to attend the grand finale via https://hackaholics.wemabank.com/grandfinale

Business

ATMs empty as banks ration withdrawals

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2024

Sahara Weekly

ATMs empty as banks ration withdrawals

The Automated Teller Machines of Deposit Money Banks have consistently remained empty in recent months as banks grapple with a sustained low cash supply.

It was also gathered on Wednesday that some DMBs, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, have begun another round of cash rationing, restricting maximum over-the-counter withdrawals to a daily limit between N5,000 and N20,000.

While banks struggle to get cash, Point-of-Sales operators have been fulfilling the cash needs of customers.

Speaking at the Facts Behind the Rights Issue Presentation of FBN Holdings at the Nigerian Exchange Limited recently, the Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer of First Bank, Patrick Iyamabo, said that the matter was an industry-wide one and not peculiar to a specific bank.

He said, “It is an industry problem. Most customers after exhausting the options available in other banks, tend to settle at FirstBank to address their cash needs. The challenge differs by location but we know it is a challenge that the regulator is looking into to address. But as we speak of physical cash, we must appreciate that the direction of the industry is to go digital.

“A lot of our customers do most of their transactions digitally, and you heard the GMD speak to this, very often people don’t want to transact in cash. In terms of this new order, your bank, FirstBank is very well positioned so if you look at the statistics and I’m speaking to independent statistics, just pick up your NIBSS report, the bank with the most stable platform meaning availability to always transact digitally is FirstBank. So, all our customers have the benefits of having their cash in First Bank and having access to this cash anytime anywhere and as necessary. It’s a huge advantage.”

Speaking anonymously with The PUNCH, a banker at a tier-1 bank put the blame on the Central Bank of Nigeria.

As a result, many people have turned to Point-of-Sale operators, who have become the primary channel for cash withdrawals, albeit often at higher transaction fees.

Major commercial banks visited by one of our correspondents on Wednesday claimed not to have sufficient cash allocation hence the ration withdrawals to serve more customers.

The banks visited include Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank along Airport Road, and EcoBank at Jabi in Abuja.

A bank customer at EcoBank, who spoke without mentioning her name, said she was only allowed to withdraw N5,000 from N20,000 previously allowed.

“I was just informed that I can only withdraw N5,000 from my account. Can you imagine? The amount will can’t even take me home.”

Our correspondent received the same answer when he attempted to obtain cash.

At GTBank and Zenith Bank along the airport road, customers were permitted a maximum withdrawal of N20,000 from N100,000 previously disbursed as a daily limit.

A customer, Mr Faith, who visited the bank expressed shock about the new limit. He said the banks didn’t give any cogent reason for reducing the withdrawal limit.

“I just visited these banks, and I was informed that I can only withdraw N20,000 from N100,000, which was the previous limit. They didn’t even give any reason for reducing, now I have to start looking for cash elsewhere. This country is just so annoying,” He vented.

Cash scarcity became a recurring and widespread issue across Nigeria after the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a controversial policy in January 2023, which significantly reduced the daily and weekly cash withdrawal limits to N100,000 daily, N500,000 weekly for individuals, and N5m for business entities.

This decision, aimed at encouraging a cashless economy, led to long queues at ATMs, increased difficulty in accessing physical cash, and a general disruption of daily financial transactions for millions of Nigerians.

The policy’s impact was felt particularly by those in rural areas and lower-income groups, who rely heavily on cash for their day-to-day needs, exacerbating economic hardships across the country.

Last week, data from the CBN showed that currency in circulation climbed 56.1 per cent year-on-year to reach N4.31tn, up from N2.76tn in September 2023, reflecting an increase of N1.55tn.

This is just as currency outside banks surged by 66.2 per cent in September 2024, reaching N4.02tn compared to N2.42tn in September 2023, a notable rise of N1.60tn in just one year.

This indicates that the volume of currency retained outside the banking sector outpaced the total released for circulation within the past year.

Compared to August 2024, currency in circulation rose by 4.0 per cent month-on-month, adding N166.2bn from the previous figure of N4.14tn.

The CIC is the amount of cash–in the form of paper notes or coins–within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses. It represents the money that has been issued by the country’s monetary authority, minus cash that has been removed from the system.

Earlier in September, the CBN announced plans to sanction banks that fail to dispense cash through their automated teller machines, as part of efforts to improve cash availability in circulation.

The CBN also revealed plans to release an additional N1.4tn into circulation over the next three months to ease cash flow within the banking system.

This strategy aims to ensure that ATMs and bank branches have sufficient cash, addressing ongoing challenges faced by customers over cash shortages.

Efforts to get a reaction from the apex bank on the new situation proved abortive as the acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali Hakama, did not respond to enquiries sent to her phone number.

Business

NNPCL Makes New Leadership Appointments

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2024

Sahara Weekly

NNPCL Makes New Leadership Appointments

The Board of Directors of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has just made fresh leadership appointments.

A communication by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the nation’s oil company, announcing the development reads…

The Board of Directors of NNPC Limited is pleased to announce a series of strategic leadership appointments. These changes
reflect our continued dedication to enhancing corporate governance, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring long-term success in Nigeria’s energy sector.

The following key appointments have been made:
1. Mr. Adedapo A. Segun has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Segun previously served as the Executive Vice President, Downstream, where he made significant contributions to the company’s downstream operations.
2. Mr. Isiyaku Abdullahi has been named Executive Vice President (EVP), Downstream.
3. Mr. Udobong Ntia has been appointed Executive Vice President (EVP), Upstream.

These appointments align with NNPC Limited’s commitment to building a unified and competent leadership team to drive operational excellence and support the organization’s strategic objectives.

The Board and Management also extend their deepest appreciation to Mr. Umar Ajiya and Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa A. Eyesan for their outstanding dedication and service to NNPC Limited.

NNPC Limited remains committed to achieving operational excellence, enhancing global competitiveness, and ensuring financial sustainability, while prioritizing the interests of the Nigerian public in the petroleum industry.

Olufemi Soneye
Chief Corporate Communications Officer
NNPC Limited
November 13, 2024S