JUST IN: Concern For Investors As Access Bank, FCMB Others Lose N1.7 Billion To Fraud

In 2021, fraudulent acts involving bank workers and customers cost several Nigerian deposit money institutions a total of N1.77 billion.

This was revealed in the banks’ financial accounts for the year 2021. Access Bank Plc, First Monument City Bank, and Wema Bank are among the banks.

“The rise in transaction processing, speed, and available channels comes with an unavoidable side effect– more vectors for fraudulent activity,” according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, a corporation responsible for interbank transactions in the country.

According to the firm, fraud-related transactions cost Nigerian banks an average of N14 billion every year.

WEMA suffered the most losses as a result of fraud during the period under review, losing N670.73 million, according to financial statements. Wema Bank’s fraud costs increased by N27.46 million year over year, with a loss of N643.277 million in 2020.

In 2021, Access Bank lost N502 million to fraud, while third parties lost N1.98 billion. In 2021, the bank reported a total of 17,697 fraud cases, with Electronic Fraud/USSD (17,911), Cash Theft/Suppression/Pilferage/Dry posting (33), Fraudulent Transfer/Withdrawals/Reactivation of Account (16), and Armed Robbery being the most common (6).

FCMB’s fraud losses increased from N59.03 million to N89.8 million throughout the study period.