Access Bank Plc has addressed and refuted a viral video circulating on social media that claims a deceased customer’s sum of N500 million is missing from the bank.
Gatekeepers News reports that the controversy began when social media influencer Martins Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan, accused Access Bank of failing to allow the family of a deceased customer to retrieve the N500 million left in his account, claiming that the funds were unaccounted for.
According to VeryDarkMan, the deceased had informed his family on his deathbed about several bank accounts he held, including the Access Bank account containing the alleged missing amount.
Reacting to the video, which has gone viral on social media, especially, on X, formerly known as Twitter, Access Bank described these allegations as “untrue” and “baseless,” and it also rejected claims of unethical conduct by its employees.
“Our attention has been drawn to a video on social media wherein allegations of missing funds and unethical behaviour have been made against Access Bank Plc.
“First and foremost, we wish to emphasize that the safety and security of our customers’ funds are core priorities which we take seriously. Second, Access Bank Plc does not engage in or condone any unethical behaviour,” the statement released on Sunday reads.
“In the instant case, the allegations of missing funds in the Bank are most untrue and baseless.
“There is no N500 million or any other fund or amount missing from the subject customer’s account or from any other customer’s account with us.”
The bank added that it had together with other independent stakeholders in the banking industry thoroughly investigated the allegations and independently arrived at the same conclusions.
Access Bank insisted that it operates with the highest ethical standards, adding that it would continue to protect its customers’ interests whilst also respecting privacy laws.
“Consequently, whilst we have engaged and will continue to engage with our customers, we must advise the public not to rely on or believe sensational and unverified claims that are designed to titillate and mislead the public.”
However, VeryDarkMan faulted Access Bank’s response saying the bank still has some explanations to do.
“I just saw your response to the allegations of the missing 500 million naira from a dead client account. My first question to Access Bank is, why did the bank statement skip from 2016 to 2020? Where are the statements of 2017, 2018, and 2019?”
