A staff of First Bank Nigeria Plc, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka is currently on the run after allegedly stealing 40 billion Naira through shady transactions within the bank.According to reports, First Bank management has commenced legal proceedings to recover the funds and bring the culprit to book. On March 25th, 2024, the bank took the matter to the office of the Inspector General of Police, and subsequently secured court orders between April 4 and April 8, 2024, to freeze hundreds of accounts implicated in the fraud. Court documents and police statements indicate that Muiz directed funds to his wife’s Zenith Bank account, which were subsequently dispersed to 34 additional accounts and further distributed to 1,190 other accounts across various banks. This extensive network complicated the investigation and recovery efforts.
The alleged mastermind, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, a manager in the electronic products team at First Bank’s office in Iganmu, Lagos. The extent of the fraud which reports said went on for about two years is rocking the bank to its foundation at the moment -as it struggles to meet the recapitalisation requirements recently put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Muiz was a manager in the Electric Products team of the bank and exploited his role’s authority to process customer reversals. Instead of crediting legitimate reversal requests, he allegedly funneled funds into accounts under his control, evading detection for nearly two years.
The fraud was however uncovered after a customer complaint led to an internal investigation, revealing numerous suspicious transactions. Meanwhile, First Bank has not disclosed the total amount stolen in its communications, officially.
One of the beneficiary accounts reportedly used some of the stolen funds to purchase stablecoin USDT from various cryptocurrency traders. These traders, who deny knowledge of the fraud, are now embroiled in a legal battle with First Bank, facing restrictions on their accounts.
The investigation continues as authorities work to unravel the full extent of the fraudulent scheme and recover the diverted funds.
A letter from First Bank to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police dated May 10, 2024, formally requested a thorough investigation and the apprehension of those involved. More details are still to emerge as the case unfolds.