Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is scrambling to recover a staggering N9.3 billion stolen from customers’ accounts in a sophisticated fraud linked to a major system breach.
The incident, which occurred on March 23, 2025, has triggered a legal battle as the bank races to freeze accounts suspected of receiving the illicit funds.
How the Fraud Unfolded
Court documents reveal that Union Bank detected unauthorized transfers from multiple customer accounts, with the stolen money funneled into 54 different financial institutions.
The bank quickly filed a lawsuit (FHC/L/CS/629/2025) at the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking an emergency order to block further withdrawals from the implicated accounts.
In a sworn affidavit, Oluwasegun Falola, Union Bank’s Head of E-Fraud Investigations, confirmed that the fraudsters exploited a critical system glitch, siphoning funds in small, deliberate transactions to avoid detection.
