Nigerian banks and fintechs ordered to freeze accounts over massive fraud

A Federal High Court has ordered the freezing of numerous bank and fintech accounts following massive fraudulent transactions involving eTranzact International Plc and Access Bank.

In one instance, the court in Abuja ordered 12 commercial banks and six fintech platforms to place post-no-debit restrictions on approximately 69 accounts. This follows a petition regarding database penetration and transaction manipulation on the eTranzact internet banking platform, which allegedly led to unauthorized credits to various beneficiary accounts.

Separately, Access Bank has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to recover approximately N1.34 billion lost through suspected cyber fraud. The bank reported that unauthorized transfers were made from the accounts of four customers—MIB TXN Bullion, AIICO General Insurance Company Limited, Apogee Engineering Limited, and Sims Nigeria Limited—via the Access SME App. The funds were allegedly moved to accounts across 71 different financial institutions. Access Bank is seeking court orders to restrict movement from the recipient accounts and to compel banks to disclose available balances and watchlist the associated Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).