The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has revealed that Nigerian financial institutions lost at least ₦5Billion to fraudsters in the last nine months.
The commission also stated that it is in collaboration with sister agencies in law enforcement to curtail cybercrime, especially in the financial system.
NDIC’s Executive Director, Corporate Services, Mrs Omotola Abiola-Edewor made this revelation while speaking at the annual capacity-building programme for law enforcement agencies in Lagos on Wednesday.
She went further to state that such crimes are capable of causing irreversible damage to the stability of the banking system.
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This is coming on the heels of a revelation that banks in the country lost over ₦5 billion to fraudsters within the first nine months in 2020.
At the programme with theme: ‘Effective Investigation and Prosecution of Banking Malpractices that led to the Failure of Banks in Nigeria‘, she stated that the value of the fraud cases rose to ₦204.65 billion in 2019, compared to ₦38.93 billion in 2018 and ₦12.01 billion in 2017.
Abiola-Edewor, who was represented by Joshua James Etopidiok, and referenced a report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), the fraud incidences could be attributed to the increase in the sophistication of fraud-related techniques, such as hacking, cybercrime as well as an increase in information technology-related products and usage, fraudulent withdrawals and unauthorized credit.
Also speaking at the event, Mr. B. A Taribo, Director, Legal Department, NDIC, said the objective of the workshop is to develop capacity amongst law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of banking malpractices, with special emphasis on failed banks.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK