Recent information has it that a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has asked Providus Bank, one of the new generation banks, to refund customers’ N329,454,650.28 fraudulently transferred out of its account.
Identified as Aqua10 Nigeria Limited, the Justice Lifu-led court also asked the bank to pay the sum of N100,000 to the customer as compensation for its illegal action.
The decision is the result of a suit brought before the court by Barrister Kelechi Chukwu on behalf of Aqua 10 Nigeria Limited against Providus Bank Limited and seven other organizations.
Vacubeg Group of Companies Limited, Heroes Heights Construction Company Limited, Vacubeg Investment Limited, North Alta Trading Limited, Abiodun Shoyombo Trading operating as Seatea Enterprises, and Abiodun Afeez Adeyemi Trading joined Providus bank as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a court document, the Managing Director of the company, Oladipo Okuntola, alleged that sometime around 9th and 12th of July, 2021, the total sum of N558,569,000 was removed from the account of his company in Providus Bank Limited to the account of Jethra Designs Investment Limited in another bank.
The plaintiff accused the bank of conspiring with the other entities in the suit, whom it referred to as internet fraudsters, to fraudulently transfer monies from its accounts.
In the court filing, Okuntola detailed that the funds were intended for the payment of goods to be shipped in from HG Honkong Company Limited and New Silver Industry Company Limited in China and that the funds were transferred from the account of Jethra Designs Investment Limited to the Vacubeg Group of Companies Limited.
The Managing Director went on to say that Vacubeg sent the funds to Heroes Heights Construction Company Limited’s account, and subsequently Heroes Heights Construction Company Limited transferred the funds back to Vacubeg Investment Limited.
He added that Vacubeg Investment Limited received the cash and transferred them to the account of Vacubeg Group of Companies Limited, which subsequently transferred the funds to the account of North Alta Trading Limited.
“it was discovered that internet fraudster were behind the companies and business names sued as 2nd to 8th defendants in this suit, and that the persons behind the companies had fled from Nigeria,” the court document partly read.
“The matter was reported to the Interpol, and through Interpol, the movement of the plaintiff’s funds and the persons involved in the fraud were traced. The Plaintiff has requested that its funds traced to the 6th, 7th and 8th Defendants accounts in the Providus Bank who is also Plaintiff’s bankers be returned, but the bank is insisting that without the court’s directive or order, the bank will not return the Plaintiff’s funds traced to the 6th, 7th and 8th Defendants’ accounts in the Providus bank,” it added.
The total sum of N329,454,650,296.28 was moved to the three accounts, stated below domicile in Providus bank: North Altappq Trading Limited -N93,361,828.97; Abiodun Shoyombo Trading under the name and style of Seatea Enterprises- N185,133,525,.08 and Abiodun Afeez Adeyemi Trading under the name and style of Adeyemi Digital Enterprises-N50,959,296.23.
