By: Sunday Adebayo
First City Monument Bank (FCMB), a member of FCMB Group Plc, is a financial services holding company headquartered in Lagos. FCMB Group Plc has nine subsidiaries divided among three business groups: commercial and retail banking, investment banking, and asset and wealth management. As of December 2020, the Group’s total assets were valued at US $5 billion (NGN: 2 trillion).
The entity from which the bank was founded, City Securities Limited (CSL), was established in 1977 by Oloye Subomi Balogun, the Otunba Tunwashe of Ijebu, a Yoruba traditional aristocrat. First City Merchant Bank was established in 1982 with seed from CSL. It was incorporated as a private limited liability company on 20 April, 1982 and granted a banking license on 11 August, 1983. It was the first bank to be established in Nigeria without government or foreign support. In 2001, the name of the bank was changed from First City Merchant Bank to First City Monument Bank Limited following the bank’s transformation to a universal bank. A new subsidiary, FCMB Capital Market Limited, was formed to support it’s corporate finance activities. On 15 July,2004, FCMB changded its status from a private limited liability company to a public limited liability company.and was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) by introduction on 21 December, 2004.
Inspite of the fact that the banking industry is the most controlled and regulated industry in Nigeria, fraud has continued to rear it ugly head in the industry. It has eaten deep into every unit and department in the banking sector. The level of fraud in the present day Nigeria has assumed an epidemic dimension. Today the very integrity and survivability of these laudable functions of Nigeria banks have been called into question in view of incessant fraud and accounting scandals. More money is stolen through banks by means of fraud committed with pen than through other means and the banking industry falls victim to fraudulent act suffers and bears the brunt.
The current Managing Director (MD) of FCMB Yemisi Edun, was named Acting Managing Director in January 2021 after the Managing Director at that time , Adam Nuru, stepped down due to an alleged paternity scandal. In July 2022, the appointment became official, making her FCMB’s first female CEO. Edun first joined the bank in the year 2000 as the Divisional Head of Internal Audit and Control.
Recent fraudulent and scandalous act under her watch as the Managing Director has brought up question about her competence and also about the integrity of FCMB group plc. Some of recent scandal and fraudulent act related to FCMB which has brought a set back under the management of Yemisi Edun will be discussed in this article.
Court Orders FCMB To Pay N540m To Pastor Wrongly Accused of Laundering Money For Magu
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is in hot soup as the Federal Capital Territory High Court has ordered the bank to pay N540.5 million in damages to Pastor Emmanuel Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry and his wife Deborah over false claim that they laundered N573 million for former chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.
Delivering the judgement in the law suit, Yusuf Halilu, the judge held that the bank breached its “duty of care to the claimants”, the Omales and their church.
The judgement was on the suit marked:
FCT/HC/CV2541/2020 filed by Mr Omale, his wife and the church.
The judge held that the evidence before the court showed that the bank admitted error in its report to the NFIU of entries in the account of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry which was accused of laundering money on Mr. Magu’s behalf.
Mr. Halilu also said the bank claimed that purported N573 million was wrongly reflected as credit in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account by its reporting system, which is recently upgraded.
The judge held that FCMB admitted the error, which brought incalculable damage to the reputation of the claimant both within and outside the Nigeria – depleting their church’s membership.
Mr. Halilu said the claimants provided sufficient evidence to establish case of negligence against FCMB.
Consequently the judge awarded N200 million as aggravated damages; N140.5 million as specific damage and N200 million as general damage.
‘N1.2B Fraud’: FCMB Manager, 2 Others Docked
The Ikeja GRA manager of First City Monument Bank was on Wednesday 30th March, 2022 docked before a Lagos High Court for allegedly aiding 1.2 billion fraud.
Munis was arrained on 15 counts amended charge alongside Dare Osamo and Ayoola Bisola who had earlier been arraigned before the court presided over by Justice Oyindamola Ogala.
At the resumption of trial, the Director, Lagos State Department of Public Prosecution, Dr Jide Martins, informed the court that the state had an amended charge to include the branch manager who allegedly connived with Dare Osamo to swindle star orirnt owned by a business man, Otunba Babatunde Akanbi Babalola.
According to the amended charge, Munis on the 15th day of February, 2016, while acting as branch manager First City Monument Bank Plc situated at No 48, Isaac John street, Government Residential (GRA) Branch, allegedly commited the offense.
The court further stated that Munis and Osamo, allegedly demonstrated intention to defrauding without lawful authority or excuses approved the opening of a new account for Star Orient Nig. Ltd when there were no Special Control unit against Money Laundering Certificate number on the account opening form.
The charge also state that the duo of Munis and Osamo, allegedly ran foul of banking rule when they opened the account without full details of the directors of Star Orient Nigeria Limited, no means of identification or BVN (Bank Verification Number) of the directors Star Orient Nigeria Limitedand upon a forged resolution purportedly signed by Dare Osamo as sole signatory when there are two directors who are signatories to star Orient Nigeria Limited’s account.
Dr. Martins announced to the court of the existence of the amended charge and urged the court to take his plea over the allegation levelled against him.
Consequently Munis pleaded not guilty to four-count charge relating to him out of the fifteenth count charges.
The state prosecutor, thereafter, asked the court for a trial date and ramand order pending the determination of his bail application.
In a counter reaction, J.O Olushade, who represented Dr. Wale Olawoyin, SAN, as councel to the branch manager, informed the court of his bail application while praying for liberal terms.
The defense counsel moved the bail application by adopting it as he prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail because the offense allegedly committed by the defendants are bailable.
Opposing the bail, the state DPP said the court must consider the severity of the offense.
Delivering ruling on the bail application, Justice Ogala granted the 3rd defendant bail in the sum of N20million with two sureties.
The court ordered that the sureties must be residents in the state and have title to landed property.
She said they must provide evidence of tax payment to the state government as well as their residential address which must be verified.
She further ordered the defendant to submit his international passport.
‘N900m fraud’: How Hacker Linked ATMs To FCMB Customer’s Account
The printed document showing how scammers hacked into the computer database of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and stole over N900 million belonging to customers were brought before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the special offenses court sitting in Lekki, Lagos State.
Also brought before the court were the suspects – Gideon Oluwatimilehin, Abiodun Aina, Samuel Adenitiri, Oluwasegun Daliu, Olaitan Ajibola Shehu, Moyosore Sulaimon and Adeyinka Akinji.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) had earlier arraigned the severity suspects for allegedly defrauding FCMB of over N900 million.
The suspects were accused of conspiracy to defraud and unauthorized access to FCMB computer materials and software.
The EFCC alleged that the seven defendants did steal by unauthorized transfers and withdrawal from various FCMB points nationwide of the sum of 900 million, property of the owners of and various customers of FCMB from their accounts to various accounts outside the bank via POS and ATM.
Tendering t the certified documents showing how the scammers hacked into the computer database of the bank before the special offenses court on Friday, an investigation officer in the Group Internal Audit Division of FCMB, Olayinka Olaleye disclosed that the fraudulent act was carried out between March 9 and 10, 2018.
Olaleye, who was introduced as a witness to the court by the prosecuting counsel, B.C Bennett, revealed that the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card details of one Abdullahi Kazeem was linked to the corporate account of Eko Hotel Limited as if the hotel has an a card on it’s bank account, nothing that the ATM card belonging to Kazeem was used to withdraw a large sum of money by the defendants.
He said: “The defendants and other perpetrators still at large gained unauthorized access into the system of FCMB. They fraudulently conspired together and deleted information and hacked into the password of some users in the bank to increase transaction limit on the corporate accounts, increased the transaction amount and they increased the transaction frequencies and linked their ATM card into these corporate accounts to make huge withdrals.
“The fraud did not take the usual pattern where you can easily narrate how money moves from one account to another.
“The transaction limit and amount on the Eko Hotel account was fraudulently enhanced as our system was hacked otherwise one shouldn’t have been able to withdraw N150,000 or N500,000 daily.
“On the same day March 9, 2018, various ATM withdrawals of N20000 each was carried out because the transaction limit and account been enhanced and the suspects were able to make limitless withdrawal. That was how the ATM card of Abdullahi Kazeem that was fraudulently collected by Gideon Oluwatimilehin and later handed over to Osita Martin’s who is currently at large was used.
“If not for forensic investigation, there is no way one will be able to trace the withdrawal to the account of Kazeem. By the time we conducted a forensic investigation on the account of Eko Hotel Limited, we were able to see the card linked to the account and cash withdrawals were made”.
He further stated that the transactions on the Eko Hotel’s account were fraudulently executed via transfers and cash withdrawals using the ATM.
The investigation officer further told the court that ATM card of another defendant Adeyinka Akinji, was linked to the account of MTN to withdrawal millions of naira.
“The card of Adeyinka Akinji was linked to the account of MTN. His own card was handed over to Oluwasegun Daliu and the pattern used was cash withdrawal through ATM.
“The transaction took place on the same day because the transaction limit at account of MTN were fraudulently enhanced; the transaction count was increased as well,” he stated.
Olaleye added that the defendants and others still at large also defrauded FCMB by linking the ATM card belonging to Olaitan Ajibola Sheu to the corporate account of Multichoice Nigeria Limited.
He stated that the defendants made huge withdrawal from Multichoice’s account via ATM and POS.
However, during cross examination by the Defense counsel, Lekan Egberonbe, the witness said he has worked with FCMB for eight years.
Egberonbe further asked the witness of the footage that showed when the defendant made use of the ATM, while the investigation officer said the footage, which was unavailable as of the time he appeared in court, can be provided.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, thereafter, adjourned the matter till February 14, 2022, for further hearing.