Crime, News

EFCC Arraigns Bank Officials Over Alleged $306,000 and €50,000 Fraud

Published by Samuel Ayomide on March 6th, 2026.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought two officials of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited before the Lagos State High Court over an alleged fraud involving $306,667.81 and €50,250. The development was disclosed in a statement shared on the Commission’s official platform.

The defendants, Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede, were on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, arraigned before Justice Ismaila Ijelu at the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja. They are facing a 10 count charge relating to alleged stealing and unlawful retention of funds said to belong to FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.

According to the anti-graft agency, the case originated from a petition filed by the bank after an internal audit reportedly detected unauthorized transactions amounting to $306,667.81 and €50,250, with a combined value of N527,406,916.66. The EFCC stated that preliminary investigations revealed the funds were allegedly transferred through the SWIFT platform to third party accounts.

One of the charges presented in court alleged that the defendants dishonestly took the sum of N527,406,916.66 belonging to the bank. Both men, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.

Following their plea, prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, asked the court to set a trial date and requested that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending the hearing of the case. In response, defence counsel, Oluwaseun Akintunde and Olajide S. Onasanya, informed the court that bail applications had already been filed and urged the court to grant their clients bail on favourable terms.

After considering submissions from both sides, Justice Ijelu granted each defendant bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in the same amount. The court ruled that one of the sureties must be a gainfully employed relative who must provide proof of livelihood as well as evidence of tax payment for the past three years.

The court also directed the defendants to surrender their international passports and ordered that they must not travel outside the country without the court’s approval. They were subsequently remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions.

The case was adjourned until March 25, 2026, for the commencement of trial.