The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has approved the final forfeiture of over ₦2 billion in cash and assets traced to a massive fraud scheme that siphoned funds from the accounts of Union Bank customers.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Daniel Osiagor granted the forfeiture order on Friday, following an application by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The ruling comes two months after the court had issued an interim forfeiture order over the same assets.
The EFCC told the court that the stolen funds amounting to ₦2.007 billion were fraudulently withdrawn from the dormant and restricted accounts of 575 Union Bank customers, in a monumental scheme.
Counsel to the EFCC, Hanatu Kofar-Naisa, urged the court to permanently transfer ownership of the assets to the federal government, arguing that the funds were the proceeds of criminal activity.
Among the forfeited items are 326.4 million and $480,000 in various bank accounts, two residential properties located at Macedonia Street and Grace Crescent in Queens Estate, Gwarinpa, Abuja, a fleet of luxury vehicles, including Mercedes-Benz C300, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers, and Toyota Hilux pickups.
According to the affidavit submitted by EFCC investigating officer, Sulaiman Muhammad, the fraud was uncovered after Union Bank filed a formal complaint in October 2022.
The bank reported that its systems had been manipulated to authorize illegal withdrawals from customer accounts flagged as dormant or marked “no-debit.”
A follow-up report in July 2023 revealed that the total sum diverted had grown to over ₦2 billion.
EFCC’s investigation pointed to two companies at the center of the scheme which are Actus Homes Limited and Fav Oil and Gas Limited.
The commission found that Actus Homes received ₦681.2 million from 126 customer accounts, Fav Oil and Gas collected ₦1.388 billion from 429 accounts.
Neither company had any legitimate relationship with the bank or its customers, and no evidence of loans or services rendered was found.
The EFCC disclosed that proceeds from the fraud were used to purchase high-end real estate and luxury automobiles.
Some of the cash was also recovered from various locations, including a black Escalade SUV, now part of the forfeited assets.
In total, ₦887.4 million was traced to various bank accounts, and Union Bank was able to recover ₦519.1 million that had not yet been withdrawn from the affected accounts.
The EFCC confirmed that criminal proceedings are ongoing against the key suspects involved in the scam.
