Staff Stole About N9.9 million From GTB

Komolafe Oluwayomi, 45, is one of the workers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), and the bank has filed a lawsuit against him for allegedly breaking into the system and taking N9,989,000 from the account for personal use.

After receiving a complaint from GTBank’s management, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) overseeing the Bar Beach division of Victoria Island, Lagos, issued an order for the defendant’s arrest.

Oluwayomi, an Ondo State resident of Unity Close, Ojodu, Lagos, was charged with two counts of conspiracy and theft before the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court on Lagos Island following an investigation conducted by Inspector Patience Eguabor and colleagues.

Ben Ekundayo, the police attorney, told the court that the defendant had committed the crime while employed at GTBank Plc, which is located on Oyin Jolayemi Street in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Ekundayo informed the court that the defendant had betrayed the confidence placed in him by his employer as the officer in charge of paying drivers’ retirement benefits by using his friend’s name and account number fraudulently in the retirement benefits payroll. He then used this information to transfer N9,989,000 into his friend’s account, making it appear as though the friend was receiving retirement benefits, and he later moved the money from his friend’s account to his own GTB Bank-domiciled personal account, converting it to his own use.

He claimed that during an assessment of the drivers’ retirement payroll accounts, GTB management discovered the theft. He further stated that the defendant’s actions were punishable by sections 411 and 287(7) of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Law.

Judge M.A. Owunmi granted the defendant N2 million in bail with two sureties in the same amount after the defendant entered a not guilty plea to the allegations.

The defendant will be held at the Ikoyi detention facility until he complies with the bail requirements, according to Owunmi, who postponed the case till June 11, 2024.