FCMB staff nabbed over N12.5m fraud

An official of First City Monument Bank, Mr. Olajide Ogundipe has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for defrauding the bank to the tune of N12.5 million, out of which the anti-graft agency has been able to recover N9 million from the suspect.

The bank had on September 4, 2009, petitioned the EFCC, alleging fraudulent withdrawal of money from the bank's ATM in excess of N12million by a staff of the Lokoja branch, Mr. Ogundipe.

The bank had observed that some unexplainable entries were passed between one of its assets accounts and its ATM at its Lokoja branch.

In the course of investigation, EFCC operatives discovered that sometimes in March, 2009, Olajide who works at the Lokoja branch of the bank, posted a debit entry of N450, 000.00 to the assets account and credited the ATM with same value, which was subsequently taken out in bulk cash from the ATM machine after close of business.

Further investigation revealed that several other similar entries in excess of N12 million have been posted and subsequently withdrawn in the same manner.

Olajide who confessed to the crime after his arrest said he spent the money to sponsor his wedding in 2008. He said he made the withdrawals, usually a minimum of N500, 000.00 each time he loads the three ATM machines in Lokoja. “Thereafter, I will manipulate the posting to balance the account”, he confessed.

The Osun state born banker who said he joined FCMB in September 2008 after three years with a new generation bank in Abuja said he never kept the stolen money in the bank but in his brief case at his Lokoja home and unknown to his wife who is resident in Karu, Abuja.

After the confessional statement, Olajide who promised to return the stolen money made good his promise when his lawyer, Barrister Ibrahim Muktari, brought to EFCC an FCMB draft of N9,000,000 dated 22 October, 2009. He had earlier paid N3, 500,000.00 of the stolen money.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned in court soon.