Sterling Bank Limited, its chief executive officer, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, and four senior management staff have been dragged before a Magistrate’s Court in Wuse Zone II, Abuja, over alleged $200 million fraud.
In the suit before Magistrate Njideka Duru, the plaintiff, Miden Systems Limited, claims it maintains a corporate account with Sterling Bank.
The matter, scheduled for mention on Monday, was stalled due to the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Enugu.
The case was however adjourned to September 10.
In a 29-page petition filed through its counsel, Louis Alozie (SAN), the firm accused the defendants of running a fraudulent scheme in its name by opening fictitious accounts through which more than $200 million was allegedly siphoned.
The firm alleged that its repeated requests for account statements were ignored, while liens were placed unilaterally on all its accounts, cutting it off from its own funds.
According to the petition, Sterling Bank allegedly withheld foreign currency remittances, speculated with them for months, and later liquidated them at devalued exchange rates.
“In one instance, our principal remitted dollar revenues when the official rate was about ₦150/$1 and the market rate about ₦198/$1. Sterling Bank stockpiled over ₦2 billion in our account after taking its spread. By the time they released it, the naira had collapsed to about ₦500/$1, rendering the original dollar value almost worthless,” the complaint read.
Miden Systems further alleged that the bank deliberately refused to issue cheque books or provide access to internet banking in order to conceal fraudulent debit entries and transactions.
The company also claimed that although it had cleared all its loan obligations to Sterling Bank by July 2017, the bank “booked” an unsolicited $30 million loan into its account barely three months later.
According to Miden Systems, Sterling fabricated an offer letter, forged board resolutions, and signatures to create the appearance of consent. The same day the loan was booked, Sterling’s board allegedly approved and disbursed the facility.
“On the following day, over $1 million was transferred to one ‘AA’, and two days later, more than $29 million was disbursed to the same individual. Miden never applied for this loan, never accepted it, and the signatures used were forged,” the complaint alleged.
The petition further cited another incident where Sterling Bank allegedly booked a $3 million loan to Chasewood Limited. When Chasewood denied applying for the loan, the bank allegedly reclassified it under Miden’s account, claiming the two companies were “sister companies.” Miden insists Chasewood is a completely separate entity.
The firm also expressed alarm over documents indicating that Sterling Bank allegedly secured a loan facility from Afrexim Bank using forged signatures and identities of individuals unknown to its directors. It further alleged that Sterling Bank fraudulently opened additional accounts in its name using a fictitious office address at No. 10 Goba Close, Wuse II, Abuja—an address Miden says it has no link to.
Following failed efforts to resolve the matter, Miden petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions.
The committee reviewed the case and referred it to the Inspector General of Police. A police investigation report, issued in February 2025, allegedly indicted Sterling Bank and the named defendants.
With the case now before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Abuja, hearing has been fixed for September 10.