The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has recovered about N1.2 billion out of N3.5 billion that was stolen from the accounts of Globus Bank customers.
The anti-graft agency secures a frozen order of approximately N1, 198,911,864.72 from the Federal High Court in Abuja residing in various banks linked to former Globus Bank employees who are alleged to have hacked into the customers’ accounts.
The request was made against the accompanying record names Haril Worldwide Arrangements Ltd, Abdullahi Abubakar Sadiq, Onobun Oluwaseun Olumide and Oluwaseun Adeniyi Afolabi, following a solicitation by the Monetary and Monetary Violations Commission (EFCC) on its starting gathers dated January 12, 2024, and related inner reminders and knowledge reports.
In suit NO/FHC/CS/32/2024, EFCC counsel Olanrewaju Adeola asked the court to stop all outward payments, operations, or transactions (including bills of exchange) on those accounts and to freeze all accounts in the interest of justice.
Before the EFCC arrived, Globus Bank’s management had raised concerns about the hacking of their systems, which led to the indictment of a few former employees who worked in the ICT department.
In light of reports, the bank swiftly moved toward a court in Lagos for freezing orders against a few ledgers supposedly connected with the suspects.
The bank then announced the advancement to the EFCC.
In EFCC’s testimony in help dismissed by its Case Agent, Samson Oloje, the commission got a knowledge report about the exercises of ex-staff of Globus Bank who purportedly hacked into the bank frameworks and took the amount of N3.5000.000.00 of clients’ cash.
Endless supply of the knowledge report, Globus Bank was welcomed wherein one Monday Edward, Head of Inside Review/Boss Controller of the Bank came and chipped in an explanation affirming that the bank framework was hacked.
He went on to say that the intelligence report was given to the Advance Fee Fraud Section of the Commission. The investigation has so far revealed that approximately three ICT employees of the bank continued the fraud after they left the organization.
He focused on that as trailblazers and engineers of the Globus Bank ICT programming stage, Babatunde Idris Olayiwola, Chinedu Ihuma and Igwe George Benedict Obinna, who purportedly completed the wrongdoing are side by side of the stage working subtleties and knew how to get to every one of the records of Globus Bank.
He expressed in his oath, “That one Babatunde Idris Olayiwola, a previous staff of Globus Bank, who is an ICT master, who made all the product stages the bank is involving in its day to day functional business acquainted one Chinedu Ihuma with Globus Bank when the previous was going to leave the bank.
Chinedu Ihuma, a former Globus Bank employee, was also an ICT expert who was brought in by Babatunde Olayiwola to oversee the Bank’s ICT software operational platforms.
When Igwe George Benedict Obinna was about to leave the bank, he also introduced him to the bank to take over and manage the ICT software operational platforms.
“That examination uncovers that Babatunde Idris Olayiwola, Chinedu Inuma and Igwe George Benedict Obinna hacked into the PC frameworks of Globus Bank and they moved monies running into over N3, 500,000,000 from the record of the Bank into different records having a place with Haril Worldwide Arrangements Ltd and partner different ledgers residence on numerous banks the nation over.
“That further investigation reveals that Igwe George Benedict Obinna shared the login details with the duo of Babatunde Idris Olayiwola and Chinedu Ihuma through which the fraud was perpetrated.”
According to Oloje, following the findings of the investigations, all bank accounts associated with the fraud were requested through letters to the relevant banks in which evidence of funds’ receipt was established.
Additionally, the EFCC staff informed the court that Globus Bank management had previously requested that the Federal High Court in Lagos issue a Post No Debit (PND) order to the bank accounts from which the funds had been diverted to prevent account depletion.
Besides, he informed the court that the PCs and phone gadget of Igwe George Benedict Obinna had been sent for criminological examination to know the degree of the association of Babatunde Idris, Olayiwola Chinedu Ihuma and Igwe George Benedict Obinna in the criminal operations.
The EFCC stated that “the prime suspect, Igwe George Benedict Obinna was arrested and interviewed during the investigation and made a statement to the effect that he dealt with the perpetuation of the fraud.”
The EFCC requested that the court award its solicitation as not conceding it would risk the continuous examination concerning the knowledge report obtained by the commission.
On January 23, 2024, Equity Inyang Ekwo froze the records in question and dismissed the EFCC to give reports of the results of its examination.
As seen on a few court records, Globus Bank, on December 21, 2023, got a request from the Government High Court Lagos to freeze the financial balances related to the suspects.
The EFCC intelligence documents indicate that both Idris Olayiwola and Chinedu, the principal actors and former Globus Bank employees, are believed to be in the United Kingdom.
In addition, it is believed that the suspects have filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Justice, Maitama FCT Abuja, under the case number: CV/1841/24.
They try to suppress the lawful moves made by the bank and EFCC.