In a statement released on Sunday, Access Bank Plc refuted a widely shared social media video that claimed that Late Idongest Edeth Awah, a customer, had N500 million missing from the Access bank account he opened on June 10, 2016.
BrandSpur banking and finance news report that the bank also denied allegations of unethical behavior by its employees.
Over the weekend, social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, accused Access Bank of not allowing the family of a deceased customer to retrieve the N500 million that was left in the customer’s bank account because the money was missing. According to him, Awah, on his deathbed, had told his family about multiple bank accounts where he had money and the amount, including an Access account with N500 million.
According to the bank: “Our attention has been drawn to a video on social media wherein allegations of missing funds and unethical behaviour have been made against Access Bank Plc. First and foremost, we wish to emphasize that the safety and security of our customers’ funds are core priorities that we take seriously. Second, Access Bank Plc does not engage in or condone any unethical behaviour.
“In the instant case, the allegations of missing funds in the Bank are most untrue and baseless.
“There is no N500 million or any other fund or amount missing from the subject customer’s account or from any other customer’s account with us.”
The bank went on to say that it and other independent banking sector stakeholders had looked into the claims in great detail and had independently come to the same conclusions. Access Bank reaffirmed its commitment to the highest ethical standards and promised to uphold privacy laws while safeguarding the interests of its clients.
It went on to reveal: “Consequently, whilst we have engaged and will continue to engage with our customers, we must advise the public not to rely on or believe sensational and unverified claims that are designed to titillate and mislead the public.”
VeryDarkMan, criticized Access Bank’s statement, stating that the bank still has to provide some clarifications. He replied in response to the bank’s statement, saying: “I just saw your response to the allegations of the missing 500 million naira from a dead client account. My first question to Access Bank is, why did the bank statement skip from 2016 to 2020? Where are the statements of 2017, 2018, and 2019?”
Despite the bank’s announcement correcting the records, more consumers and social media users are still dragging the bank into the dispute over the allegations, so it may not be finished yet.
