First Marina Trust Ltd Chief Risk Officer, Onyeoghane, narrated how the defendants created email addresses and defrauded customers with them
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Anthony Onyeoghane, has narrated before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos how two former employees of his company allegedly duped the customers of their former employer to the tune of N1.3 billion.
The witness made the narration when he gave evidence before Justice Tijani Ringim at the resumed trial of two ex-employees of First Marina Trust Ltd, Adeyemi Oluwaseun and Suleiman Yusuf.
The defendants were first arraigned before Justice Chuka Obiozor in June 2018 by the EFCC on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit fraud, impersonation and cybercrime.
They had pleaded not guilty to the charge and were admitted to bails, while the trial commenced.
However, Obiozor was transferred out of Lagos division of the Federal High Court and the case was consequently, re-assigned to a new judge, Justice Tijani Ringim
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Following the re-assignment of the case, the defendants were on May 12, re-arraigned before Justice Ringim
Each of them maintained the ‘not guilty’ stance which they had earlier pleaded and Justice Ringim had allowed the defendants to continue on their earlier bail.
At the resumption of trial on Monday, the prosecutor, Mr Nnaemeka Omenwa began his examination-in-chief by calling his first witness, Anthony Onyeoghane, a lawyer.
Led in his chief evidence, the witness told the court that he works as a Chief Risk Officer of First Marina Trust Ltd, a financial institution regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He identified the defendants as being former colleagues who served as marketing operators and relationship managers respectively.
The witness told the court he was the head of a committee set up to investigate a case of internal fraud within the company, orchestrated by the defendants, beginning on May 3, 2016.
He narrated how both defendants had connived to create email addresses of customers in a bid to defraud and liquidate them.
According to the witness, the defendants conspired to change the email address of a customer named Chinedu Ohamuo, whose email Identity is chimexohamuo@yahoo.com and forged same as chimexohamuo1@yahoo.com.
The witness narrated that following a change of this email, the second defendant acting as a customer of the company, wrote an email to himself in his official email address, instructing that the sum of N15 million be liquidated from the customer’s investment account.
He said that the second defendant had also instructed that the funds be transferred to one Olufemi Ajala who is his childhood friend.
The witness said that the second defendant printed out the email and as required by company’s policy, wrote on it “email received”, dated and signed it with his personal signature.
“He then took the said email to the first defendant who upon verification uploaded the request to the electronic payment system known as GAPS.
“The sum of N15 million was therefore transferred from the unsuspecting customers’ accounts to Olufemi Ajala using the same tactics in 19 other transactions
“The defendants transferred from unsuspecting customers’ investment accounts, the sum of over N1.3 billion.
“The only difference between the 19 transactions and the one to Olufemi Ajala was that the said Olufemi Ajala was removed from the “equation” and replaced with different bureau de change
“On May 16, 2016, a customer known as White App Resources Ltd, also saw his investment account defrauded by the defendants, using computer system to the tune of N186.2 million
“On May 17, 2016, the same cyber fraud was committed by the defendants on the same customer and the sum of N237.2 million was stolen and on May 27, 2016, the sum of N500.2 million was also stolen,” the witness said.
The witness further told the court that same fraud happened on June 9, 2016, June 22, 2016, and September 8, 2016, while various sums of money were transferred.
He told the court that the first defendant later confessed to the investigation committee, that he provided the accounts of the bureau de change into which the monies were transferred.
According to the witness, while on the run on September 19, 2016, the second defendant sent an email to the Managing Director of First Marina Trust Ltd, confessing to the crime and promising to use his “last blood” in making sure that he refunded the money.
The witness told the court that the proper procedure for liquidating a company’s account, is by a hand written letter or email, requesting same.
“The said letter or email is sent to the relationship manager of that particular customer, who is to confirm the letter or email by calling the customer to verify,” he said
“Upon verification, the officer is to write “email or letter confirmed” then signs and hands it over to the treasury operation staff, who in turn verifies same before uploading it in the electronic payment system.
At this point, the matter was adjourned. Trial will resume on February 8, 2023.
In the charge, the defendants were alleged to have obtained several sums of money from unsuspecting customers of the company by altering their email addresses
According to the EFCC, the offence contravenes the provisions of Sections 13, 22(4), 27(a), and 27(2) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015.