Fraud: How Two Bankers Stole Millions From Dead Account| AgegePulse Magazine

 

By Ayodele Ifasakin 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Uyo Zonal Command, has secured the conviction of two bank officials, Daniel Akpan Eno and Mbuk Idongesit before Justice Edem Ita Kufre of the Cross River State High Court, Calabar for conspiracy and theft of funds in the account of a deceased customer of a commercial bank.

The duo were convicted on Wednesday August 4, 2021 after pleading guilty  to separate one count charge bordering  on criminal conspiracy and fraudulent transfers. A third defendant, and alleged accomplice, Victor John Okon pleaded “not guilty”. His trial was adjourned till August 10, 2021 for consideration of bail application.

Justice Kufre convicted and sentenced Akpan to three months imprisonment  with an option of fine of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50, 000.00), while Idongesit was sentenced to three months imprisonment with an option of Thirty Thousand Naira (N30, 000.00) fine.

The convicts’ journey to prison started on May 23, 2021 when Idongesit (alongside one Utibe George- currently at large) approached Akpan with the burial programme of one Godfried Godwin Osso, a deceased customer of the Bank, whom George(at large) claimed was his step - father, with a plot to steal from the deceased’s account.

On May 24, 2021, George concluded the deal with the convicts and also contacted a Teller (Victor Okon – the 3rd defendant) from another branch of the bank to ease access to the funds in the account of the deceased. A 50% sharing formula was agreed upon by the conspirators and the plot was executed.

The commission waded in following a petition from the bank, alleging suspicious dissipation of monies in the deceased account into the accounts of family members and acquaintances, from where they were diverted to personal use.

 Investigation revealed that on June 19, 2019 Victor Okon connived with George Ifiok Utibe (at large) and received the sum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N1, 500, 000.00). Daniel Akpan also benefited the sum of One Million and Forty Thousand Naira (N1, 040, 000.00) while Godwin Mbuk benefited the sum of One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira (N130, 000.00) only

The judge ordered the convicts remanded at the Nigerian Correctional facility until they pay their fines, while Victor was remanded at the Commission’s detention facility pending the hearing of his bail application.

Police Nabs Suspected Robbers in Iyana-Ipaja

AgegePulse Magazine

Police officers on patrol of Iyana - Ipaja early this morning arrested three suspected robbers who snatched N5000 from one Opeyemi Oni at Stanbic Bank by Baruwa Gate, Ipaja, Lagos.

AgegePulse Magazine learnt that a search  on the suspects led to the recovery of  three ATM Cards of different  names and banks.

The suspects names are: Ojo Akin, living at 23, Alagbotor, Iyana - Ipaja; Obinna Solomon of 19, Idi - Araba, Ilasa B/Stop, Mushin and Adekunle Olaniyi of 15, Oke - Rube, Ijegun, Ikotun.

According to the police, all the suspects have been handed over to Gowon Estate Division for further investigation and prosecution.

Police arrest suspected bank robber, arms keeper

Samson Folarin

The Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team has arrested a suspected bank robber, Olatunde Adetunji, in the Isolo area of Lagos State.

A trader, Bashirat Akinmushire, aka Area Mother, who allegedly kept weapons for Adetunji and his gang members, was also arrested by the police team.

Both Adetunji and Akinmushire were said to be members of the Eiye Confraternity.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang specialised in robbing bank customers in the Ikeja and Isolo areas.

The suspects were alleged to have recently attacked and dispossessed a woman on her way to depositing money in a bank at Opebi, Ikeja.

Adetunji was reportedly arrested a few days later when the woman allegedly sighted him on Toyin Street, Ikeja.

She was reported to have raised the alarm as operatives of the IRT, who raced to the scene, apprehended the 31-year-old.

The suspect, during interrogation by the police, allegedly confessed that members of his gang usually carried out robberies and cult killings in the Ikeja and Isolo areas.

Adetunji also allegedly said the guns they used during operations were kept with Akinmushire.

A police source told our correspondent that the suspect led detectives to a market on Jakande Low Cost Housing Estate, Isolo, where Akinmushire was arrested.

However, the trader reportedly claimed to have passed the weapons to another member of the gang, identified only as Junior, aka Jungle.

“When she was asked to take the operatives to Junior’s house so he could be arrested and the weapons recovered, she misled the policemen and took them to a wrong location, where she also attempted to escape.

“She ran into a ditch in the process and sustained serious injuries, which made the policemen to stop their search and take her to a hospital,” the source said.

The whereabouts of Junior had yet to be known.

Adetunji said his gang usually paid Akinmushire N5,000 to keep weapons for them.

He said, “I am a member of the Eiye Confraternity and I joined the cult while at a university in Ogun State. When I dropped out, I came back home to join members of my cult on Jakanda Estate and I discovered that they had already procured an AK-47 rifle and a revolver pistol.

“They told me that they bought the guns from a soldier and they usually kept them at Area Mama’s shop, who is also a member of our cult. She normally hides the guns at the back of her shop where she sells pepper and tomatoes.

“She covers the guns with baskets and sacks. We have used the guns for several operations and we used to give her N5,000 after every successful operation. But the main thing we do with the guns is to fight our opponents, who are rival cult members.”

Akinmushire, in her statement to the police, said the gang forced her to keep the weapons because she was a member of their.

The mother of three said she did not know what the gang did with the guns.

She said, “Sometime in February 2016, Olatunde (Adetunji), Junior, and their friend started brining oneGhana-must-go bag containing some items which I did not know the content, to my shop. They usually bring the bag for me to keep for them.

“Initially, I did not know the content, but I asked them what was in the bag and they told me. They said I should not disclose it to anybody. Each time they came to pick the bag, they gave me N5,000 or more. I asked them what they were using the guns for, but they said it was none of my business.

“I know Olatunde and his friend belong to Eiye cult. I also belong to the same cult. But the guns in question are with Junior and their gang members and the reason I did not inform the estate management or security agencies was that they threatened me that if any third party got to know, they would kill me. I have never gone with them for any operation; I only keep their guns for them.”

UBA Grows Gross Earnings By 16%, Delivers 17% Return on Average Equity

…Sustains Interim Dividend

AgegePulse

Africa’s leading financial institution, United Bank for Africa Plc has announced its audited 2018 half year financial results, showing strong growth across key performance metrics as well as a significant contribution from its African subsidiaries.

Despite declining yield environment in two core markets, Nigeria and Ghana, the pan Africa financial institution delivered double digit growth in gross earnings, as itrecorded a 16 percent year-on-yearrise in top-line to N258 billion,compared to N 223 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.This performance, according to analysts, underscores the capacity of the Group to deliver strong performance through economic cycles, even in a challenging business environment.

According to the report filed to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, UBA, reported strong growth in operating income at N168.5 billion, compared to N161.8 billion in the first half of 2017, an increase of 4.1 percent. Notwithstanding the inflation-induced cost pressure in the period, UBA finished the first half of the year strongly, with a Profit Before Tax ofN 58.1 billion.
The Profit After Tax also improved to N 43.8 billion, a 3.4 percent growth compared to N 42.3 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2017. The first half of the year profit, translated to pre-tax and post-tax return on average equity of 23% and 17% respectively.

UBA’s foreign operations continue to grow in importance, contributing 40% of the Group’s profit, which according to analysts attests to the benefit of UBA’s pan-African strategy and reinforces the Bank’s objective of achieving 50 percent earnings contribution from offshore subsidiaries.

In the first six months of the year, the Bank’s Total Assets grew 4.9% toN 4.27 trillion and Customer Deposits rose by 6.1 per cent to N 2.90 trillion, compared to N 2.73 trillion as at December 2017. This growth trajectory underlines UBA’s market share gain, as it increasingly wins customers through its re-engineered customer service and innovative digital offerings. The Group’s Shareholders’ Funds remained strong at N 496.3 billion, even as implementation of IFRS 9 impacted the total equity of the bank and its peers.

In line with its culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc declared an interim dividend of N0.20 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held on the qualification date – Wednesday, September 05, 2018.
Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Mr. Kennedy Uzoka said:  “Our performance in the first half the year reflects the resilience of our business model and strategies. Despite declining yields in two core markets, Nigeria and Ghana, we delivered double digit growth in gross earnings. Our performance demonstrates the success of our digital banking initiatives and broader Customer-First strategies”
“We are integrating banking to our customers’ lifestyle, simplifying processes for routine transactions and driving financial inclusion by making banking services accessible and affordable. We are creating opportunities for wealth creation and economic progress, as we empower our customers through innovative platforms and solutions that support their personal and business growth. Our commitment to delivering excellent service is paying-off, as we increasingly win a bigger share of customers’ wallet across our chosen markets. We won the highly coveted “Africa’s Best Digital Bank” Award by Euromoney, demonstrating our pioneering initiatives are being recognised with Leo, our digital banker having been name checked by Mark Zuckerberg ” Uzoka said.

“Our enhanced asset-liability management strategies improved asset yield and grew interest income by 21% despite prevailing yield environment. Our re-engineered sales structure provided the impetus for renewed retail deposit growth. I am particularly pleased by the 24% year-to-date growth in retail savings and current account deposits, underpining the increasing penetration of our digital offerings and the Group’s overarching goal of democratizing banking across Africa. We improved net interest margin to 7.4%in line with our 2018 target, notwithstanding strong competition for wholesale deposits and the impact of rising global interest rates on our foreign currency funding,” he concluded
Also speaking on UBA’s financial performance and position, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh said; “We finished the first half of the year in a stronger position and we are optimistic on the future of our business. Amidst economic recovery and uncertainties in Nigeria, our largest market, we grew net interest income and operating income by 9.6% and 4.1% respectively. We doubled revenue from trade services and grew e-banking income by 24%, a testament to our market share gain, which is driven by innovative offerings. Our foreign operations contributed 40% of Group’s profit, underlining the benefit of our Pan-African strategy.
“We sustained our asset quality, with cost of risk at 0.8%. Whilst the loan book declined by 6.5% due to prepayments from some customers in Nigeria and Ghana, we grew the overall balance sheet by 5% in the first half of the year. The Group’s capital adequacy ratio of 23%, Bank’s liquidity ratio of 48% and loan-to-deposit ratio of 57% all reinforce our capacity to grow, with ample headroom for risk asset creation,” Nwaghodoh said.
In recognition of UBA’s dominance in Africa’s digital banking space, UBA emerged the Best Institution in Digital Banking across Africa, courtesy of Euromoney. Earlier in the year, UBA launched Leo, an e-chat service using artificial intelligence to help customers execute transactions on Facebook, the first of its kind in Africa. The Bank is set to replicate the success of Leo on WhatsApp on September 1st, bringing convenience to its growing youthful customer base across Africa.
UBA is one of Africa’s leading banks with operations in 20 African countries. It also has presence in the global financial centres; London, New York and Paris. UBA provides banking services to more than 15 million customers globally, through diverse channels.

Cyber criminals planning to hack ATMs globally, FBI warns

Banks have been warned of an imminent threat that their cash machines could be mass-hacked by cyber criminals.

In a confidential alert on Friday, America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation told international banks that criminals are plotting a concerted global malware attack on cash machines in the next few days.

As reported by The Telegraph, the FBI issued a warning about a highly choreographed fraud scheme known as an ATM “jackpotting”, in which crooks hack a bank or payment card processor and use cloned cards at cash machines around the world to take out millions in just a few minutes.

UK based banks with large international operations, such as HSBC and Barclays, are among those thought to have been made aware of the threat.

“The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating cyber criminals are planning to conduct a global Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash-out scheme in the coming days, likely associated with an unknown card issuer breach,” the FBI warning said, according to Krebs on Security, which originally reported the alert.


(The Telegraph)

Xmas decorations: LASPARK calls on "Green Partners" to support Government- AgegePulse

The General Manager of the LagosState Parks and Gardens Agency, (LASPARK), Mrs. Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, has called on all the “Green Partners” of the State to support the Government’s Christmas decoration exercise by beautifying and lighting up the sites adopted by their organisations.

The General Manager, who made the call during a breakfast meeting organised by the Agency for the private sector, described the meeting as a unique opportunity for the agency and its stakeholders to share ideas on how to advance the course of the state's greening initiative.

While acknowledging the contributions of some of its partners who had over the years embraced the Christmas lighting and decoration project, Adebiyi-Abiola, appealed to other partners to key into the project as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility by adding glamour to the Yuletide festivities.

She acknowledged the roles of all the environmentally friendly organisations towards the sustainability of the greening programme in the State and noted that more efforts were needed.

One mitigating measure against the adverse effect of climate change and global warming is to increase the green cover immensely and this can only be achieved through conscious, intensive and aggressive landscaping, beautification and tree planting activities which our partners have keyed into, she said.

She stated that the meeting had afforded her the opportunity to understand some of the challenges faced by some partners and assured them that she would look into the identified challenges and see how best to collaborate to continuously improve the living environment and wellbeing of Lagosians through landscaping, beautification and tree planting.

She said: Your immeasurable financial and material contributions in nurturing and keeping the adopted sites green and clean cannot be overemphasized. I enjoin you to do more so that we can bequeath an enviable environment to the generation yet unborn.

Present at the meeting were representatives of Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Bank, Kiosque Vegetal, Shodex Gardens, F-Plus, Chevron Nigeria, Nigerian Bottling Company, among others.