By Marvelous Sanni
No fewer than N18.7 billion has been lost to two major fraudulent schemes involving airline discount scams and bogus investment packages, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) blaming the losses on negligence, compromise and regulatory failures by banks and fintech institutions across Nigeria.
The Commission raised the alarm in Abuja on Thursday, warning that some financial institutions had become weak links in the nation’s financial system, allowing fraudsters—many of them foreign nationals—to exploit loopholes, move illicit funds and devastate thousands of victims.
Addressing journalists, the Director of Public Affairs of the EFCC, Commander CE Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that investigations uncovered the involvement of one new generation bank and six fintech and microfinance banks in facilitating the fraudulent transactions.
According to him, the fraudsters operated through two separate schemes that collectively siphoned N18,739,999,027.35 from unsuspecting Nigerians.
The first scheme involved airline discount fraud, which targeted both local and foreign travellers. Uwujaren explained that criminals designed fake promotional offers tied to foreign airlines, using payment systems that appeared authentic.
“The modality of these fraudsters, according to him, “ involves a string of carefully devised airline discount information that any unsuspecting foreign traveler will fall for. What they do is to advertise a discount system in the purchase of flight tickets of a particular foreign carrier. The payment module is designed in such a way that their victims would be convinced that the payment is actually made into the account of the airline. No sooner the payment is made than the passenger’s entire funds in his bank account are emptied.”
He revealed that over 700 victims were defrauded through the airline scheme alone, losing a total of N651,097,755.00, although the EFCC managed to recover and refund N33,628,000.00 to some victims.
Uwujaren cautioned Nigerians to remain vigilant, noting that the foreign actors behind the scam were converting stolen funds into cryptocurrency and moving them offshore through digital platforms.
The second and more devastating scheme involved a firm identified as Fred and Farid Investment Limited (FF Investment), which lured Nigerians into fake investment opportunities promising high returns.
According to the EFCC, more than 200,000 victims were defrauded through the scheme, with N18,088,901,272.35 generated through nine affiliated companies offering various investment packages.
In total, Uwujaren said more than 900 Nigerians were fleeced with the connivance of banks, adding that while foreign nationals masterminded the fraud, three Nigerian accomplices have been arrested and charged to court.
Providing further insight into how the schemes thrived within the financial system, the Director of Investigations, Abdulkarim Chukkol, and the Acting Director of the EFCC’s Abuja Zonal Directorate, Michael Wetcas, detailed what they described as a serious compromise of banking procedures.
According to them, “a new generation bank and six Fintechs and Micro Finance Banks are involved in this. The financial institutions clearly compromised banking procedures and allowed the fraudsters to safely change their proceeds into digital assets and move into safe destinations”.
They further disclosed that “A total sum of N18, 739, 999, 027. 35k had been moved through our financial system without due diligence of customers by the banks. It is worrisome that investigations by the Commission showed that cryptocurrency transactions to the tune of N162 billion passed through a new generation bank without any due diligence. Investigations also showed that a single customer maintained 960 accounts in the new generation bank and all the accounts were used for fraudulent purposes.”
In response, the EFCC called on regulatory agencies to enforce strict compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) across all financial institutions.
The Commission urged that deposit money banks, fintechs and microfinance banks found to be aiding or abetting fraud should be suspended and referred for prosecution, warning that tolerance for negligence in monitoring suspicious transactions had ended.
Reaffirming its commitment, the EFCC said it would intensify efforts against money laundering and financial crimes, while charging banks and fintech operators to strengthen internal controls and protect the economy from systemic abuse.
