EFCC Closes Case Against Man Accused of Stealing N13.29 Million from Sterling Bank

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wrapped up its case on Wednesday against Oluwole Olutimehin, who is accused of stealing N13.29 million from Sterling Bank Plc.

Olutimehin is being tried in the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, before Justice Rahman Oshodi.

He faces a charge of fraudulent conversion of N13,290,000, which the EFCC claims he took from Sterling Bank.

The case was first heard on September 20, 2022, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo. However, after Justice Taiwo retired, the case was moved to Justice Oshodi.

The EFCC says that on September 15, 2021, in Lagos, Olutimehin fraudulently took N13,290,000 from Sterling Bank for his personal use.

The commission argues that this act broke the law under Section 280 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and is punishable under Section 287 of the same law.

On Wednesday, the EFCC called its second witness, Olaniyi Olaleye, an internal auditor at Sterling Bank. Olaleye explained the events that led to the case.

He said that in September 2021, the bank found issues with its OneBank app, an online banking platform that lets customers open accounts and carry out transactions.

“We noticed problems with the app in September 2021, which allowed unauthorized withdrawals of N13.29 million from multiple banks, including GTB, Wema, and Access,” Olaleye said.

The bank then filed a petition with the EFCC to investigate the matter. Olaleye co-signed the petition and provided the EFCC with account details tied to the transactions.

The petition and the defendant’s account details were presented as evidence.

Olaleye also explained how the OneBank app worked. He said it had a wallet feature that allowed customers to make transactions, but with a daily limit of N500,000.