Bank staff aiding cybercriminals in Nigerian banks – EFCC Chairman

By Kunle Sanni

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that some commercial bank employees are actively collaborating with cybercriminals to compromise banking systems and facilitate cyber fraud.

Speaking during an interview on TVC on Sunday, Olukoyede disclosed that at least six commercial banks in Nigeria have recently been targeted in coordinated cyberattacks.

He alleged that these breaches were made possible through the involvement of insiders within the banks who knowingly granted hackers access to critical banking portals.

“These criminals are not operating in isolation,” Olukoyede said. “Our investigations show that they often rely on information or access provided by people within the banking system who understand how the portals work.”

The EFCC chairman further stated that the anti-graft agency has successfully recovered significant sums linked to these cyberattacks. According to him, N9.7 billion, N6.7 billion, and N3.7 billion have been retrieved from various banks affected by such schemes.

Olukoyede warned that the involvement of bank staff in cybercrime poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s financial sector and urged financial institutions to strengthen their internal controls and security systems. He emphasized that the EFCC will continue to pursue and prosecute those found aiding cybercriminals, regardless of their position or affiliation.

“What people do is to get a device. When they plug it into the banking digital system — in connivance with insiders, the bank staff — wherever the other persons are, even if they are outside Nigeria, they will be able to control the platform of the bank,” Olukoyede explained. “The person can then move money — in a second, they can move billions.”

“What they do now is that they won’t move the money out completely. They distribute it to the accounts of many customers. They have access to those accounts. From those accounts, they move the money to wallets or POS terminals and withdraw the funds.”

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