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Suspects forfeit assets, $480,000, N326.4m, stolen from Union Bank customers to FG

Union Bank 1

In a major stride against economic and financial crimes, the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday granted the final forfeiture of an expansive list of assets, luxury vehicles, and cash—denominated in both naira and dollars— which were diverted from 575 Union Bank customers’ accounts.

The ruling followed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) application for a non-conviction-based final forfeiture of the assets, backed by investigations which revealed the fraudulent withdrawal of over N2 billion from the accounts of 575 unsuspecting customers.

The application, brought under Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/396/2025, was argued by EFCC counsel Hanatu Kofar-Naisa, who urged the court to permanently forfeit the identified assets as proceeds of illegal activity, citing Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

In her argument, Kofar-Naisa clarified that the forfeiture application was not targeted at any individual, but rather at assets acquired through illicit means, stressing that allowing the suspects to retain them would amount to legitimizing criminal proceeds.

Among the assets forfeited to the Federal Government are: a 3-bedroom bungalow located on Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana Gwarimpa, FCT, Abuja; another house at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa, Abuja; and several luxury vehicles including a Mercedes Benz C300, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers, and three Toyota Hilux pickups.

Also forfeited are cash sums totaling N326.4 million and $480,000 recovered during the investigation.

The EFCC’s motion was backed by an affidavit sworn to by Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad, one of its investigators, who described the fraud as “monumental” and disclosed that the scheme targeted dormant or “no-debit” accounts within Union Bank.

According to the affidavit, the EFCC began its investigation following a petition from Union Bank dated October 24, 2022, which detailed suspicious unauthorized debits on customer accounts. A subsequent petition in July 2023 revealed that the total amount siphoned had reached N2,007,000,000, prompting a deeper forensic probe.

The investigation revealed that 575 customer accounts, marked “no-debit” by the bank’s audit unit, had been tampered with and fraudulently debited in a manner inconsistent with standard banking operations.

Two companies—Actus Homes Limited and Fav Oil and Gas Limited—were identified as central to the fraud. The investigation showed that funds from the compromised accounts were funneled into these companies without any legitimate commercial transaction with the affected customers.

Actus Homes Limited received N681.2 million from 126 accounts, while Fav Oil and Gas Limited received a total of N1.388 billion from 429 accounts. Neither company had applied for bank loans nor rendered any service that could justify the massive inflows.

The misappropriated funds were used to acquire properties and luxury automobiles, all of which have now been forfeited by court order.

The EFCC successfully traced ₦887.4 million transferred into various bank accounts and also recovered large cash amounts, including those found inside a black Escalade SUV, which is now part of the forfeiture.

Union Bank was able to recover N519.1 million which remained untouched in flagged accounts.

In compliance with the procedure for non-conviction-based forfeiture, Justice Osiagor had issued an interim forfeiture order on May 16, 2025, directing the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily. The notice appeared in Vanguard newspaper on June 5, 2025, inviting interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited. No objections were received.

Having met all legal requirements and satisfied the court of the link between the assets and proceeds of fraud, Justice Osiagor granted the EFCC’s request for final forfeiture.

Meanwhile, the key suspects behind the scheme are currently facing separate criminal trials.