Former bank executive remanded for fraud

Former bank manager of Polaris Bank, in the Iju branch, Abiodun Sanni, has been remanded in the correctional centre by a Lagos State Special Offences Court, in Ikeja, over alleged fraud of over one hundred million.

He was remanded on Monday, after being arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 16 counts bordering on obtaining credit by false pretences, forgery, use of false documents and stealing.

The EFCC’s prosecution counsel, O. Adewunmi, disclosed to the court that Sanni committed the offences on or about February 24, 2020, in Lagos.

The prosecution stated that while the defendant was the bank manager of the lju branch of Polaris Bank Limited, he obtained credit in the form of a loan in the sum of N17m, for one Bamgbose Tayo Taofia trading under the name and style of Banut Haulage.

He stated that the money was obtained from Polaris Bank Limited, by the false pretence that the loan had collateral in the form of a fixed deposit account number 0071572791, worth N111,540,380.52 belonging to Yinkus Multibiz Ventures and that the owner, one Mrs Olayinka Hannah Aderibigbe, consented to it being used as collateral.

He was also alleged to have dishonestly converted a Polaris Bank Limited fixed deposit account number 0071277522 worth N15, 011,441.00 (Fifteen Million, Eleven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-One Naira) belonging to Atolagbe Joshua Tinuoye, to his use.

However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.

The prosecutor, urged the court to remand the defendant at the correctional centre, pending his trial date.

In a short ruling, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe adjourned the case to the 6th and 19th of March 2025, and ordered that the bail application should be submitted to the court before the date of trial.