Globus Bank Lost N1.7bn Fraudulently Transferred
Globus Bank Limited has recently taken legal action by filing an application with the Lagos High Court in an attempt to recover a significant amount of money that was fraudulently transferred from its vault. The total sum in question amounts to N962,019,843.35, which was electronically transferred into accounts held in eight different commercial banks.
The N962 million is part of a larger sum of N1,755,376,156.34 that was transferred out of the bank between Monday, June 6th, and Saturday, June 11th, 2022. Fortunately, the bank has already managed to recover N817,998,969.85 from the accounts of the individuals responsible for the fraud.
According to an affidavit sworn to by the bank’s legal officer, Kosisochukwu Ngene, the fraudulent transfers occurred due to the exploitation of a system glitch in Globus Bank’s USSD application during the specified period. The fraudulent and unauthorized electronic transfers totaled N1,755,376,156.34.
Globus Bank stated that 709 of its customers were involved in the fraudulent transfer of funds, which were subsequently deposited into accounts held in the eight commercial banks. As soon as the bank became aware of the glitch, it promptly notified all the banks involved and requested that the beneficiary accounts be frozen, in line with the regulations set by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The aim was to prevent further dissipation of the fraudulently transferred funds.
In response to the situation, Globus Bank approached the Magistrate Court in the Yaba Magisterial District and obtained an order instructing the banks to freeze and reverse the amounts that had been fraudulently transferred into the various accounts. While some of the respondents managed to salvage a portion of the funds, resulting in N817,998,969.85 being returned to the bank, an outstanding amount of N962,019,843.35 remains to be recovered from the banks involved.
An Excel sheet containing the names of the respondents, the total amount fraudulently transferred from Globus Bank, the salvaged amount returned to the bank, and the outstanding balance has been submitted to the court as evidence. Globus Bank asserts that it still requires the high court’s order to compel the other banks to reverse and remit the salvaged funds to them. The respondent banks have also requested an order from the high court to facilitate the reversal and remittance process.
Consequently, Globus Bank Limited is seeking specific reliefs from the court, including an order directing all eight banks to immediately reverse and remit the outstanding sum of N962,019,843.35 to the bank. This amount represents the funds that have yet to be salvaged from the fraudulent transfers into accounts held with the eight respondent banks, minus any depleted funds.
Additionally, Globus Bank is seeking an order instructing the eight commercial banks to provide all relevant account information regarding the destination accounts and the beneficiaries of the transferred funds. The bank believes that this information will aid in their efforts to recover the remaining funds successfully.
Ultimately, Globus Bank is appealing to the court to grant any further orders it deems appropriate given the circumstances of the case.
