Nigeria’s financial system has experienced an uptick in fraud since 2020. Financial institutions in Nigeria have revealed that since 2020, fraud has cost them ₦159 billion ($201.5 million).
BusinessDay revealed in September of last year that Fidelity Bank suffered three attacks that cost them ₦2 billion ($2.5 million). Access Bank, Nigeria’s biggest bank based on customer deposits, filed a lawsuit in June to collect ₦3 billion ($3.8 million) that had been fraudulently withdrawn, according to court documents that were posted on social media and independently verified by TechCabal. The bank filed a second lawsuit in July to recoup an additional ₦5 billion ($6.3 million) that scammers had taken illicitly from its coffers.
Now, Nigeria’s largest commercial bank is counting its losses in full.
A ₦6.15 billion fraud: Per TechpointAfrica, Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest commercial bank by assets lost about ₦6.15 billion ($4.6 million) to fraud and forgery in 2023. This accounts for a 327% uptick of monies lost—₦1.44 billion—in the previous year.
Per the bank’s financial report, fraudulent transfers and withdrawals were the biggest driver of losses, accounting for 70%. Embezzlement—cash theft, suppression, pilferage, dry posting, electronic fraud, and USSD—contributed to the remaining portion of losses.
Access Bank’s findings reveal that 6,771 electronic fraud attempts were made worth ₦2.69 billion. The bank only lost about ₦92.2 million in those attempts. Last year, TechCabal reported on how several Nigerian banks were having internal conversations to rein in fraud. These banks often struggle with information sharing and lack of coordination on financial fraud investigations by local law enforcement agencies.
Source:TechCabal
