Business
Stabic IBTC Fraud: Staff Transferred Millions of Naira Stated as Bad Loan to Personal Account
Stabic IBTC Fraud: Staff Transferred Millions of Naira Stated as Bad Loan to Personal Account
[A case involving a member of the Stanbic IBTC staff who is accused of defraudingly converting N250 million to his own use has been postponed to May 24, 2023, by a Federal High Court in Lagos, South West Nigeria.]
When the matter was brought up, the police prosecuting attorney, M. U. Usman, informed the court that the defendant had sought the bank for a peaceful resolution and asked for a reasonably lengthy adjournment in light of this development. Mr. M. N. Oku, the defendant’s attorney, did not oppose.
Consequently, the presiding judge, Abimbola Awogboro, adjourned the case until May 24th, 2023, for a report on settlement.
Ajayi Olusola, a staffer of Stanbic IBTC Bank, was arraigned before the court based on a petition written and jointly signed on behalf of Stanbic IBTC Bank by Kayode Agbetoye.
Manager, investigations, and fraud risk, and Rekia Eletu
Under Investigations and Fraud Risk, the petition is titled “Alleged Diversion of Approved Written-Off Amounts for Bad Loans by Olusola Ajayi and Others.
Sola David-Borha, Stanbic IBTC Chairman
The petition was written and addressed to the Commissioner of Police Special Fraud Unit 13b, Milverton Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC stated the following in the petition:
We are currently investigating a case of alleged diversion of a written-off loan by some staff members and others. The amount to be written off, as approved by the Board, was expected to be posted into the loan accounts of the beneficiary debtors to nil off the outstanding loans as provisioned. However, it was discovered that the written-off amounts were diverted and credited into personal and corporate accounts, where the funds were utilized by the account owners.
Our preliminary findings revealed that on April 21, 2021, the bank’s board approved writing off a total of N37,628,329.00 on 28 defaulting customers’ accounts. The request was to write off the outstanding exposures (as well as the debit interest that would have accrued before the actual entries were passed). Also, the board’s approval was obtained on April 21, 2021, to write off a total of N2,462,057,201.71 on 848 defaulting customers’ accounts.
Some of the amounts approved for write-off into the loan accounts of the defaulting customers were discovered to have been diverted and credited into a corporate account at Able System Services Nigeria Ltd. (ASSNL), a customer of the bank.
A review of the transfers from ASSNL’s account showed that 36 beneficiaries in other banks received a total of N55,118,002 between 2015 and 2021. Three (3) of these recipients are customers of Stanbic IBTC Bank: Ajayi Olusola (staff), Ayodele Omoniyi Olaogun, and Hakeem Abdulliadi. Olusola Ajayi received a total of N12.5 million in his bank account between November 2020 and May 2021. Also, Ayodele Omoniyi Olaogun received a total of N9.74 million to his Access Bank account from ASSNL between September 2015 and May 2021.
Ajayi Olusola is an employee of the bank. He was a member of the MIS Unit and is now a member of the Business Support and Resolution (BS&R) team in the member bank. Ayodele Omoniyi Olaogun is ex-staff, and currently, Olaogun is an ex-staff of the bank. He was a banker. He was a staff member of the MIS Unit.
We therefore request that you use your good offices to conduct a detailed investigation into this incident and effect the arrest of the suspect(s) for prosecution.
We count on your usual cooperation.
The petition was investigated, and at the end of the investigation, a five-count charge was filed before the court against Ajayi Olusola and his company, Abel Services Nigeria Limited, and others at large by the Police Legal Officer, Barrister Azubuike Sylvester.
The amended version of the charge as filed before the court by Police Legal Officer Azubuike Sylvester is stated below:
AMENDED CHARGE
COUNT 1
That you, Ajiyi Olusola ‘M,” Abel Systems Services Nigeria Limited, Ayodele Olaogun, and Hakeem Adisa Abdulhadi, both now at large, conspired among yourselves and others now at large between 2015 and 2021 at Stanbic IBTC Bank in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, while working as a staff at Stanbic IBTC Bank to commit a felony.
COUNT 2
That you, AJAYI OLUSOLA ‘M,’ ABEL SYSTEMS SERVICESNIG. LTD, AYODELE OLAOGUN, and MR. HAKEEM ADISA ABDULHADI, both now at large, obtained the sum of N205,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) property of Stanbic IBTC Bank between 2015 and 2021 while working as a staff at Stanbic IBTC Bank by falsely representing to the bank
The representation you knew to be false, did not believe to be true, or made recklessly was made knowing it to be false, and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act No. 14 of 2006.
COUNT 3
That you, AJAYI OLUSOLA ‘M,’ ABEL SYSTEMS SERVICES NIG. LTD., AYODELE OLAOGUN, and MR. HAKEEM ADISA ABDULHADI, both now at large, did convert to your own use and benefit the sum of N205,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) property of Stanbic IBTC Bank between 2015 and 2021 at Stanbic IBTC Bank in Lagos, within the Juris
