nited Bank for Africa, UBA, no doubt, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, is allegedly a home of thieves and fraudsters. The bank that once prided itself as wise men’s bank some years ago, has now become a bank where depositors cannot go to bed with their two eyes closed due to the alarming rate at which fraudulent activities take place in the bank. A lot of its customers are now very scared of being victims of this fraud that is rampant at the bank.
In this report, biznesswatch brings you shocking details of how staffers of  UBA have been defrauding depositors of their deposits. It is alarming to know that this fraud that runs through the bank is not only peculiar to branches of the bank in Nigeria, but also branches of the bank in other African countries.
Only recently, a 41-year-old manager of the bank, Victor Ogunyemi, who allegedly defrauded a bank customer of N3.3million, was charged before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.
Ogunyemi, the former manager of the Orile Iganmu branch of UBA, resides at No. 22, Monilola Oyeyinka St., Ajao Estate, Lagos.
The accused is facing a three-count charge of fraud, stealing and issuing a dud cheque.
The prosecutor, Insp Emuerhi Benson told the court that the Ogunyemi fraudulently obtained the money from the complainant, Peter Ojimba.
He said that the offence was committed sometimes in October 2012 at Orile Iganmu, Lagos.
Benson said that the accused, under the representation that the money would be returned within six weeks, obtained the amount; knowing same to be false.
Benson also said that the accused issued a UBA cheque No. 1015584448 to the complainant on Nov. 30, 2012 as settlement for the loan but which this dis-honoured due to insufficient funds.
The prosecutor said that the offences contravened Sections 278 and 312 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State 2011 and Section 1(2) of the Dis-honoured Cheque Offences Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
If convicted of fraud, Section 312 provides a maximum of 15 years imprisonment for the offence.
In same vein, two former managers of the bank, Aigbe Akhidnor and Enajite Enaworu were arraigned in Warri, Delta over a fraud of N500 million. As if that was not enough, there came another puzzling fraud of how the sum of N381 million paid into a bank account  that had been dormant for years was cleared within 12 hours.
This fraudulent act took detectives from the force headquarters a long time to unravel the mystery behind these criminal activities of the bank, which eventually led to the arrest of two senior managers, two company chief executives and five other suspects.
Informed police sources reveal that the suspects, sometime in March 2011, at Garki Abuja, conspired to commit felony, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and cheating. The sources further disclosed that the suspects fraudulently and dishonestly induced one Mustapha Yakubu Ibrahim to deliver the sum of N381 million for the supply of export proceeds value at $2.5million, which they claimed they had in their foreign bank account.
Police investigation reveals that the victim was tricked into paying the money into a United Bank for Africa account as an equivalent of $2.5 million to be paid to him.
As soon as the victim paid the money into the dormant UBA account which has been dormant for years, the bank managers, in connivance with the suspects, immediately cleared the money without paying the said sum of $2.5 million. 
In a criminal charge filed against the suspects and UBA at a Federal High Court in Abuja by the Inspector General of Police, who is the complainant, it is alleged that the suspects defrauded Ibrahim of $2.5 million. As if that was not also enough, there came another in-house fraud that rocked that bank.
Biznesswatch gathered that the mind-boggling sum of about N1.4 billion of customers had earned deposits was missing.
According to sources who would wish to remain anonymous, confirmed that the scam was ‘a long term ploy’. The perpetrators are alleged to have taken advantage of the porous internet banking facilities at the bank to achieve their insidious aim. The bank’s Information & Communication Technology department was fingered in this fraud some arrests made, while investigations are ongoing.
Also, in February 2013, another  employee of UBA, Olumide Fabunmi, was dragged before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly withdrawing N3.4 million from a customer’s account.
Fabunmi, 24, who lives at 55, Okpe Road, Sapele, Delta, is standing trial on a two-count charge of forgery and stealing.
The prosecutor, Insp. Raji Akeem, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in April 2012. He said the accused, who was in charge of the account of the complainant, Eyeregba Emmanuel, Managing Director of See-D Good Business Enterprise, Sapele, allegedly forged his signature and withdrew N3.4 million from his account.
Akeem said the accused also presented a forged document with signatures of various customers, including Emmanuel requesting overdrafts from the bank.
“The accused was caught when Emmanuel wrote to the bank through his lawyer that he did not withdraw the money from the bank. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that Fabunmi, who was the customer’s account officer, forged his signature to withdraw the money,’’ he said.
Akeem, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The magistrate, Mrs O.A. Ogunbowale, granted the accused bail in the sum of N250, 000 with two sureties in like sum and the case was adjourned for further hearing. The incessant rate at which these frauds occur has informed the myriads of court cases and litigation against the bank.
The activities of the bank have become synonymous with fraud to the point that fraud now runs in the system of the bank.
Not too long ago in Monrovia, several employees serving in various capacities at the UBA have been arraigned by the Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice for allegedly stealing over US$1m belonging to the bank.
The employees charged with misapplication of entrusted property, criminal conspiracy and facilitation and theft of property pleaded not guilty when the indictment accusing them of the crimes was read to them in the court.
“We are not guilty,” five of the 13 defendants present in court said after the 25-count indictment accusing them of them of theft was read to them.
The plea of not guilty means that the defendants have now entered issue with the state to prove its case against the 13 defendants in the trial which currently going on.
Court record says between September to December 2010 the defendants as a team through employee relationship and in collaboration with co-defendants Ali, Enterprise, Mamawa & Sons, James Adam, Alieu &Sons and only God Blessing did criminally strategized to allegedly steal and misapplied principle and interest generated from loans of UBA in the amount of US$ 1, 257, 722.00.
The defendants have been named as Tunde C. Fon, Rashi R.Chandi, Remeo Clarke jr, James E Potter, Kerlie M. Miller Chikezie Ibem,Boakai Paegar, Patrick K. Manjoe others are Khrussheve Urey, Edward Constance, Johnson Diggs, Gerard Wright and Edwin Yeah including the Ali Enterprise, Mamawa &Sons, James Adam, Alieu &Sons, Augustine Gaye and Only God Blessing businesses.
According to court records, Defendant Tunde Fon working in the capacity of Freeport, Bushrod Island Branch Cash Officer of United Bank of Africa used his office to manipulate the system and incorporated the rest of the defendants working at various other branches of the bank both in Monrovia and that of Ganta, Nimba County.
The court record further that the defendants in view of the facts that all of the positions occupied by them were cash oriented, they begun to loan money out to institutions and individuals such as the Ali Enterprise, Mamawa &Sons, James Adam, Alieu & Sons and Only God Blessing that facilitated the commission of the crimes and thereafter allegedly converted the interests and principles of the money to their personal use.
Again,the indictment against the defendants stated that co-defendant Kerlie Miller allegedly admitted to have being in cohort with co-defendant since 2008 and in some instances, in the event a particular branch is short of cash as a the result of the alleged dubious transactions, money is transferred from another branch to stabilize the account in an effort to conceal the criminal acts.
According to the court record copy of which was obtained by biznesswatch, the acts on the part of the defendants is contrary to $ LCLR title 26 section 10.4 of the statutory laws of the country.
Also, the court record indicated that the person is guilty of theft of property a misdemeanor of the first degree if he or she disposes of, uses or transfer any interest, in property which has been entrusted to him as a fiduciary.
We reliably gathered that the bank’s management is said to have become concerned with the growing rate of fraud being perpetrated in the bank and the fear of the repercussion this would have in balance sheet of the bank.
Informants say the management of the bank is doing everything humanly possible to bring seemingly cankerworm of fraud under control as customers have started closing and relocating their accounts to other safer banks.

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