Operatives of the police special fraud unit (SFU) have arrested Salau Abdulmalik Femi, a 38-year-old man for allegedly hacking into the system of a first-generation bank to defraud it of about N1.8 billion.
Femi, according to the police, is the kingpin of a syndicate that specialises in hacking into the servers of banks and corporate agencies.
Femi, who was arrested alongside Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, was accused of using an application software to create fictitious credits totalling N1,868 billion, which he deposited into the accounts of some of the affected bank’s customers.
Eyitayo Johnson, spokesperson of SFU, in a statement on Thursday, said Femi successfully made debits amounting to N417.5 million through internet banking transfers to other banks.
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He said the unit, while acting on a petition from the affected bank; contacted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deposit money banks, whose customers were beneficiaries of the fraudulent funds, and they were able to recover a substantial amount.
“Items recovered from the suspect include; Apple Laptop and iPhone; while he and operators of BDCs used to launder the monies will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded,” the statement reads.
“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Unit, CP. Anderson A. Bankole has scheduled a meeting with Chief Compliance Officers/and Head of Technology/Information Security Department of Banks with a view to brainstorm on the loophole exploited by this suspect and how to counter similar hacks; for the benefit of both the Police and the Banking Sector of our economy.”
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