EFCC probes ex-banker for alleged N515 million fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is looking into a former bank operations manager, Obinna Nwaobi. He is accused of diverting N515 million from an account owned by DAHUA Paper Company.

On Thursday, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale released a statement. He said the commission got a petition from the bank's Enugu zonal office on 22 June. The petition claimed that the money was withdrawn from the company’s Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA) without permission.

The petition mentioned that the withdrawals happened in three transactions of N200 million, N150 million, and N165 million on 17 July 2024.

The bank claimed these transactions were done at its Okpara Avenue branch in Enugu. They said the withdrawals were made using fake documents and were authorized by Mr Nwaobi, who was the head of operations at that time.

The bank also said the account was reactivated in June 2024. But it was not on a Post No Debit (PND) restriction, which would have stopped any withdrawals.

The EFCC noted that early investigations showed the account was opened to pay back a loan from the Bank of Industry. It was not meant for regular transactions. Withdrawals or transfers to other accounts from such accounts must have approval from the account officer, regional manager, and credit monitoring team. The EFCC claimed that the N515 million transactions happened without these necessary approvals.

This investigation comes as Mr Nwaobi is also facing charges for allegedly diverting $510,000 from another customer of Access Bank, Lantern Gate Nigeria Limited.

He was taken to the Federal High Court in Enugu in November 2025. He faces nine charges of forgery and criminal diversion. The EFCC claimed that the money was moved to six different accounts without the customer's permission. One charge stated that Mr Nwaobi tricked the bank into moving the money, claiming Lantern Gate had approved the transactions.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The court granted him bail of N250 million, with three sureties in the same amount. The case was postponed to 10, 11, and 12 March 2026 for trial.

The EFCC did not mention the name of the bank involved in the latest N515 million case. They only said the transactions were processed through the Okpara Avenue branch in Enugu. The commission stated that Mr Nwaobi would face charges linked to this latest allegation once investigations are completed.