The N40 Billion heist carried out by a staff, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, a manager on the operations team of First Bank Plc is still shaking the financial powerhouse. First Bank sacked over 100 employees in July 2024, four months after discovering the big fraud involving ₦40 billion diverted over two years. Adeyinka, who is still on the run, had reportedly used his authorisation to approve chargebacks to accounts he controlled while in the employ of the bank.According to a latest report by TechCabal, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter claimed that at least 120 employees, including full-time and contract staff of First Bank’s large operations department, were given termination letters in July. The head of transactions at the time was also fired.
Those employees were accused of laxity in carrying out their duties and were told they should have spotted the fraud earlier. First Bank’s management team believed it was impossible for a fraud of that scale and timeline to have been executed without the knowledge of Adeyinka’s superiors.
“The CEO said there will be zero tolerance for supervisory negligence,” said one First Bank employee who asked not to be named so they could speak freely.
News first broke in May, of how Adeyinka, who was the final line of authorisation on his team, carried on his scheme unnoticed for two years. When the incident was discovered in March, the bank tried to keep the matter under wraps, suspending several operations team members indefinitely. However, First Bank became more aggressive after the fraud became public.
Several employees were questioned by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and detained at the Lion’s Building for at least six hours, one person with direct knowledge of the incident said. Those employees needed to post bail before they were released. Restrictions have been placed on all their personal accounts except their First Bank accounts.