The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday, ordered the final forfeiture of a sprawling array of assets, luxury vehicles, and cash ? both in naira and dollars ? linked to a massive fraud scheme involving the illegal diversion of funds from Union Bank customers.

Justice Daniel Osaigor granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission?s (EFCC) application for a non-conviction-based final forfeiture of the assets following detailed investigations which uncovered a fraudulent withdrawal of over ?2 billion from the accounts of 575 unsuspecting customers of the bank.

The application was argued by EFCC?s counsel, Hanatu Kofar-Naisa, who urged the court to permanently forfeit the identified assets as proceeds of unlawful activity, pursuant to 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 submissions, the counsel emphasised that the suit was not against any individual but rather against properties acquired through unlawful means, noting that failure to forfeit the assets would amount to rewarding criminal conduct.

Among the properties and funds forfeited to the Federal Government are: A 3-bedroom bungalow at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana Gwarimpa, FCT, Abuja, a house at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa, Abuja, and multiple high-end vehicles including a Mercedes Benz C300, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers, and three Toyota Hilux pickups.

Also forfeited is the sum of ?326.4 million and $480,000 in cash recovered during the course of investigation.

The EFCC?s application was supported by a detailed affidavit deposed to by Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad, an investigating officer of the anti-graft agency, who described the scale of the fraud as ?monumental,? and said the operation targeted dormant or ?no-debit? accounts within Union Bank.

According to the affidavit, the EFCC launched its investigation after receiving a formal petition from Union Bank on October 24, 2022, detailing how its systems had been fraudulently manipulated to facilitate unauthorised debits on customer accounts.

By July 2023, a follow-up petition revealed that the total stolen funds had increased to ?2,007,000,000, prompting a deeper forensic investigation.

The probe uncovered that the bank?s audit unit had identified suspicious transactions involving 575 accounts placed on a ?no debit? status, which were nonetheless debited using methods inconsistent with normal banking procedures.

Two companies ? Actus Homes Limited and Fav Oil and Gas Limited ? were said to be central to the scheme.

Funds from the compromised accounts were funneled into these entities without any legitimate commercial relationship with the customers.

Actus Homes Limited was said to have received N681.2 million from 126 customer accounts, while Fav Oil and Gas Limited was said to have received a cumulative ?1.388 billion from 429 accounts.

Further investigations showed that neither company had applied for or received loans from the bank, nor did they render any service that would justify the inflow of such large sums.

The funds were subsequently used to acquire real estate and luxury automobiles, all now forfeited by the court.

The EFCC said it was able to trace ?887.4 million that had been transferred into various bank accounts, and also recovered large cash sums, including those discovered in a black Escalade vehicle ? now forfeited.

Union Bank managed to salvage ?519.1 million, which remained untouched in some of the accounts flagged during the audit.

In line with legal requirements for non-conviction-based forfeiture, Justice Osiagor had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on May 16, 2025, and directed the EFCC to publish the court order in a national newspaper.

The publication on June 5, 2025, invited interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited. No objections were received.

Having complied with due process and satisfied the court of the connection between the assets and proceeds of fraud, Justice Osiagor granted the EFCC?s final forfeiture request.

The EFCC also said that the main suspects in the fraudulent scheme are already facing trial in a separate criminal proceeding. (Channels TV)

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