The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has arraigned a former employee of the Union Bank Plc, Paul
Onwughalu, before Justice S.S. Ogunsanya of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.
The suspect, SHOWBIZPLUS gathered was charged on one count
bordering on failure to conduct due diligence in financial transactions, a
statement by EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said on Monday.
The EFCC said Onwughalu allegedly
failed to conduct due diligence “in a mega scam that rocked the bank on 10
January, 2013 when some fraudsters hacked into its database and pulled out
hundreds of millions of Naira.”
The anti-graft agency said the
accused failed to conduct due diligence check on Dan Kawu Bureau De Change’s
account domiciled in the bank, before authorising the payment of N450m to the
company.
The charge reads, “That you, Paul
Onwughalu, on or about the 9th of January, 2013, at Lagos, within the Ikeja
Judicial Division, while being an employee of Union Bank Plc, failed to
exercise due diligence in relation to conduct of financial transactions with
one DanKawu Bureau De Change by confirming and authorising payment of the sum
of 450m fraudulently transferred by hacking into Union Bank database (flexcube)
and transferring the said sum to Union Bank Plc account of one DanKawu Bureau
De Change domiciled in Union Bank, Head Office Branch, Marina, Lagos and
thereby facilitated the crediting and withdrawal of the said sum by one DanKawu
Bureau De Change to various accounts in Eco Bank, Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank,
United Bank for Africa and Dankawu Bureau De Change.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to
the alleged offence.
The prosecution counsel, Fadeke
Giwa, prayed the court to fix a date for trial and to remand the defendant in
prison.
However, the defence counsel, O.
Fagbemi, informed the court that he had already filed an application for bail.
Justice Ogunsanya adjourned the case
till February 28, 2014 for hearing on the bail application and ordered that the
defendant be remanded in the Kirikiri Maximum Prison.
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