Bank worker arrested for diverting N3.4m from customer’s account

The police have arrested a marketing agent of a commercial bank in Matori, Mushin area of Lagos State, for allegedly diverting the savings of one of the bank’s customers.

The money, which belongs to one Rose Okoye, was estimated at N3,441,000. The suspect, Fatiu Mohammed, reportedly transferred the sum to another bank account.

City Round learnt that the suspect, Mohammed, perpetrated the alleged fraud on December 14, 2018 after he snapped the account details of the customer from the computer screen of his colleague, who is an account officer.

It was gathered that Okoye complained to the bank when she discovered the fraud and petitioned the police at the Area D Command, Mushin.

In the course of investigation, the closed circuit television at the banking hall was said to have been reviewed.

The CCTV reportedly captured the moment Mohammed took photographs of the computer screen with his phone to get account information. He was then arrested by the police.

“On December 11, 2018, Mohammed, who is a direct sales agent of the bank was seen viewing and taking photographs with his phone from the computer screen of the account officer during the working hours. He extracted information on the account of the woman. It was discovered that on December 14, an unauthorised transfer of the sum of N3,441,000 was made from the woman’s account to another one. It is believed that the viewing of the account details led to the unauthorised transfer,” a source told our correspondent.

The suspect in his statement to the police admitted to have taken photographs of some information on the computer screen. He, however, denied taking photographs of the account details of the woman, claiming that he did not commit the fraud.

He said he wanted to send the information to customers, who had registered with the bank through him, to enable them to have better understanding of the services offered by the bank.

A police prosecutor, Inspector Koti Aondohemba, consequently brought him before an Ogba Magistrate’s Court on two counts of fraud to which he pleaded not guilty.

The counts read in part, “That you, Fatiu Mohammed and others now at large, on December 14, 2018, at Diamond Bank Plc, Motori Branch, Mushin, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit stealing, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

“That you, Fatiu Mohammed and others now at large, on December 14, 2018, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did steal the sum of N3,441,000 from the account of one Rose Okoye, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.”

The presiding magistrate, M. O. Tanimola, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in the like sum and adjourned the case till March 13, 2019.

(PUNCH)

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