FIRST BANK, CBN SHIELDS EX-BANK WHO FRAUDULENTLY WITHDREW AND SQUANDERED 10.5MILLION KEPT IN BANK AS FIXED DEPOSIT BY RETIREE
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a recommendation it recently gave on a fraud-related N10.5 million dispute involving 72-year-old Osun resident Sule Fabiyi and First Bank of Nigeria, has absolved the financial institution of any wrongdoing.
Contrary to the CBN’s recommendation, emerging documents show that First Bank was alerted to the fraudulent N10.5 million transaction in July. Yet, the bank did nothing to help Fabiyi recover his money or apprehend the fraudsters who operated from the bank.
Fabiyi told FIJ that he received the CBN’s recommendation on Monday. His lawyer had been invited to collect a hard copy of the document from the bank.
“I received the recommendation from CBN on Monday and found it very shocking and unbelievable,” said Fabiyi.
“Just like First Bank had initially claimed, the CBN also claimed that I had a personal business relationship with Abdulwahab Sani Shehu. How is that even possible?
“You know the worst part? It was not stated how and when I would get my N10.5 million back from First Bank.
“The business banker exploited the fact that I am an elderly person who knows nothing about how they perpetrate their shady deals in the banking sector and now my N10.5 million has disappeared.
“A lawyer within First Bank had first falsely claimed I had a personal business relationship with Abdulwahab Sani Shehu, and now, the CBN is making the same claim?
“How am I even sure that the investigation was thoroughly carried out, and that the shocking outcome was arrived at without any inducement and bias?
“Now, the business banker is nowhere to be found and my N10.5 million has disappeared.
“I am not going to relent on this matter. First Bank must cough out my N10.5 million.”
The CBN’s conclusion reads in part:
The investigation revealed a personal business relationship between the complainant (Fabiyi) and the former business manager (Shehu).
When the business deal went bad, the complainant turned to the bank to recover lost funds. The bank is not liable for the loss incurred by the complainant.
The former business manager acted beyond the scope of his official duties to perpetrate this fraudulent activity against the complainant.
BACKGROUND
On August 24, FIJ reported how Shehu terminated and subsequently mismanaged the N10.5 million fixed deposit investment Fabiyi had started with First Bank in 2019.
On July 7, Fabiyi had received a N500,000 fund transfer from a personal account belonging to Shehu, and this led to the septuagenarian visiting the bank’s branch in Osogbo to find out what was going on with his investment.
While at the branch, Fabiyi was told that Shehu had terminated his investment without his consent since 2022.
It was also revealed to him that the business banker had diverted his N10.5 million into some sort of investment or activity he had no knowledge of.
First Bank terminated Shehu’s appointment but refused to refund Fabiyi’s N10.5 million to him.
To date, Shehu is nowhere to be found.
OLARM ENTERTAINMENT GLOBAL’S LAWYERS WRITE FIJ
In another turn of events, lawyers representing OLARM Entertainment Global, a business entity Shehu had brought into the picture of his fraudulent act, wrote to FIJ on Tuesday to absolve their client of any wrongdoing.
In their letter, the legal representatives stated that OLARM Entertainment Global had no involvement in the N10.5 million fraudulent scheme that was orchestrated and executed by Shehu.
It was also revealed that Shehu had only used one of their client’s accounts with First Bank as a conduit while perpetrating the fraud. OLARM Entertainment’s lawyers showed FIJ a pre-action letter it wrote to inform First Bank about the unusual activities on the bank account on July 14.
The lawyers claimed that this was done without the consent and knowledge of the signatories to OLARM Entertainment’s bank account.
As a result of the business banker’s fraudulent action, the lawyers said, OLARM Entertainment also became a victim as its Bank accounts were restricted, preventing it from carrying out transactions.
First Bank lifted the restriction from OLARM’s accounts but did not follow up with the dubious N10.5 million transfer.
9 replies on “CBN, First Bank Shield Ex-Staff Who Fraudulently Terminated, Diverted Retiree’s N10.5m Fixed Deposit”
This is absolutely horrendous to read. This is great injustice to a septuagenarian. My candid advice to the man is for him to get a better lawyer from a reputable firm with SANs and sue First Bank, CBN and also co-join all the other firms used by the crooked basket Shehu to defraud him to court. He would get justice so long as he’s not found guilty of granting any authorization to the crooked banker Shehu to manage his money as he pleases.
The report of the investigation submitted by CBN is very suspicious of trying to dismiss the case and absolving First Bank of any wrong. How would a bank be totally guiltless of funds entrusted into its care to oversee, protect and manage for its clients. After all, funds placed under investment portfolio are meant to yield financial gains to both the client and the bank therefore the bank can’t feign ignorance and they ought to have been monitoring all investment accounts to ensure that untoward activites aren”t being perpetrated on it by their internal staff.
The mistake the customer made was that, you allow the staff to sign on your behalf. When filling the form ,you will be asked what you wants the bank to do at the end of tenure of your investments either to re invest or money transfer back to your account. When the bank staff is not your son..reason First Bank and CBN is saying it’s not their fault. If it’s a yearly investment, you should be in the bank yearly to re invest. Contact the staff
Is thi ls why I couldn’t enter my bank app, you guys are trying to scam us?
This report from fisrt Bank and the CBN is on call for. And is so unfortunate that the central bank of a country like Nigeria can back up fraudulent act like this one am really disappointed in this nation of ours, and you think someone else will go and invest in that bank again an elderly man like that
Yes, someone has lost his money
But people should quit the act of wanting a corporate body take the fall in their stead.
Someone wrongfully used his position as a BM to pitch a ponzi scheme type of deal, to which you subscribed and when it went bad, he ran away and you simply want the bank which you did not tell a thing while getting huge monthly returns above the MPR to bear the brunt, haba nah
May God grant you the ability and grace to make what’s lost sha
Hmm. Things are changing very fast … they should have provide evident to proof the relationship between the customer and officer of the bank. Lesson of this story don’t have account officer … anything go the bank straight.
Nigeria’s Bank are frustrated and they have turn the banking sector to stealing and fraudulent banking, I experience one issue on my gtb and uba bank, my ATM is with me and I was debited sum of (40000) fourthly thousands naira I was shocked and I run down to the customer care services and day started telling me under necessary issue like, maybe I withdraw before and the did not debited me or I make use of my ATM, I told them no, my ATM is with me my banking app is on my phone I don’t share my login with anyone apart from me and me alone, after a lot of agreement they letter ending it that maybe it was an automatic debited, they are not assure of what really go on the account,
The CBN should investigate and apprehend the formal first bank staff,so that he can pay back the money.
Someone opened a fixed deposit account with First Bank, how did his money get out of that bank undetected? How was the customer’s account debited and which account was credited without the bank knowing through the debit and credit vouchers?