N900m fraud: How hackers linked ATMs to FCMB customers’ accounts

The printed documents 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 Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Also brought before the court on Friday were the suspects – Gideon Oluwatimileyin, Abiodun Aina, Samuel Adenitiri, Oluwasegun Daliu, Olaitan Ajibola Sheu, Moyosore Suleiman, and Adeyinka Akinjin.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier arraigned the seven suspects for allegedly defrauding customers of 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 withdrawals from various FCMB points nationwide of the sum of N900 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 the certified documents showing how the scammers hacked into the computer database of the bank before the Special Offences Court on Friday, an investigation officer in the Group Internal Audit Division of FCMB, Olayinka Olaleye, disclosed that the fraudulent act was carried out by the suspects between March 9 and 10, 2018.

Olaleye, who was introduced as a witness to the court by the Prosecuting Counsel, B.C Benneth, 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 a card on its bank account, noting 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 cards into these corporate accounts to make huge withdrawals.

“The fraud did not take the usual pattern whereby 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 more than N150,000 or N500,000 daily.

“On the same day March 9, 2018, various ATM withdrawals of N20,000 each was carried out because the transaction limit and account has been enhanced and the suspects were able to make limitless withdrawals. That was how the ATM card of Abdullahi Kazeem that was fraudulently collected by Gideon Oluwatimileyin and later handed over to Osita Martins who is currently at large was used.

“If not for forensic investigation, there is no way one would be able to trace the withdrawals to the account of Kazeem. By the time we conducted 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 Akinjin, was linked to the account of MTN Nigeria to withdraw millions of naira.

“The card of Adeyinka Akinjin 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 transactions took place on the same day because the transaction limit and 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 withdrawals from Multichoice’s account via ATM and POS.

However, during cross-examination by the Defence Counsel, Lekan Egbereoungbe, the witness said he has worked with FCMB for eight years.

Egbereoungbe further asked the witness of the footage that showed when the defendants 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.

TheStar