A First Bank employee identified as Tijani Muiz Adeyinka is now on the run after diverting N40 billion at the bank’s head office team in Iganmu, Lagos.

He allegedly diverted those funds to 98 bank accounts classified as first beneficiaries, including his wife’s.

The bank, with a market capitalization of ₦829 billion, reported the incident to the Nigerian Police Force on March 25, 2024, and obtained multiple court orders to freeze accounts connected to the stolen funds.

As reported by Tech Cabal, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, the employee implicated in the scandal, held a managerial position in the electronic products team at First Bank’s headquarters in Iganmu, Lagos. Adeyinka, now a fugitive, allegedly diverted approximately ₦40 billion (around $29 million) over two years.

He purportedly exploited his role to misappropriate funds by directing customer reversal requests to a merchant account under his control. His ability to finalize transactions without additional approvals allowed the scheme to go unnoticed.

The fraud came to light following a customer complaint, prompting an internal review by the bank’s control unit, which uncovered numerous suspicious transactions. In response, First Bank alerted the police and pursued legal measures to mitigate the financial loss.

First Bank took proactive steps by obtaining three court orders between April 4 and April 8, 2024, to freeze hundreds of accounts suspected of receiving the diverted funds. Among the affected accounts were 98 classified as first beneficiaries, including one belonging to Adeyinka’s wife, as well as numerous second-tier accounts.

Court documents revealed that Adeyinka routed funds to his wife’s account at Zenith Bank, which then dispersed the money across 34 additional accounts. These accounts subsequently channeled the funds to 1,190 other accounts, creating a complex network of transactions to obscure the origin of the stolen funds.

In a statement to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police dated May 10, 2024, the bank affirmed its collaboration with law enforcement agencies to uncover the circumstances surrounding the fraud and apprehend all individuals involved.

“We hereby bring to your notice the discovery of fraudulent transactions into various transactions within and outside the bank and request your good offices to set up the machinery of investigation in place with a view to unravel the circumstances surrounding the said fraud and get the culprits apprehending to face the wrath of the law,” read a letter dated May 10, 2024, from First bank to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

Fraud remains a big issue in Nigeria’s financial services industry. While fintech startups receive disproportionate scrutiny, the country’s biggest banks are often on the receiving end of fraud attacks too. In 2023, Access Bank lost ₦6.15 billion to fraud and Fidelity Bank lost ₦2.5 billion in three incidents.