₦82.4 billion: Top 5 hacks and fraud cases in Nigeria between 2023 and 2024
Financial institutions in Nigeria lost ₦17.6 billion ($11.2 million) to fraud in 2023, according to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System’s (NIBSS) 2023 Annual Fraud Landscape report.
The report shows that the amount lost to fraud has increased every year in the past five years with significant growth between each year.
The total amount lost to fraud went from ₦2.96 billion ($1.8 million) in 2019 to ₦ 11.61 billion ($9 million) in 2022. Between 2019 and 2023, the total amount lost to fraud increased by 496% to ₦17.6 billion.
However, an analysis of some of the cases reported in the news showed that ₦82.4 billion ($52.6 million) was lost in six fraud cases.
Interestingly, NIBSS noted that not all fraud cases were reported “via the Industry Fraud Reporting Portal by the financial institutions.”
Ninety-two percent (88,112) of the 95,620 reported cases came from deposit money banks, and the remaining 8% (7,509) came from other financial institutions.
According to NIBSS, this means that only 37% of financial institutions complied with reporting fraud incidents while 63% did not. This means they are in breach of the “CBN circular on the Establishment of Industry Fraud Desks.”
Major hack and fraud cases in Nigeria between 2023 and 2024
Given that ₦82.4 billion was lost in fraud and hack cases that made the news, it is clear that financial security presents a significant difficulty for Nigerian financial institutions.
Interestingly, it is a major challenge globally.
The 2024 Global Financial Crimes Report projected that banks could lose $442 billion in 2023 even though they are increasing investment in security.
The report said “the scale of this global financial crime epidemic is immense” and estimated that $3.1 trillion worth of illicit funds went through the global financial system in 2023.
In the same year, Nigerian financial institutions experienced some of the most scandalous fraud and hacks, leading losses in billions of naira. Here are some of the cases.
1 First Bank
Estimated loss: ₦40 billion ($29 million)
Year: 2023
This fraud case involves a First Bank employee who is currently on the run after allegedly syphoning ₦40 billion (around $29 million) into various accounts, including his wife’s.
The theft was discovered following a customer’s complaint about unauthorised transfers. An internal investigation revealed the employee’s involvement, prompting First Bank to initiate legal actions to freeze the affected accounts.
The scandal has exposed significant vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s banking system, raising concerns about internal controls and security measures.
2 Flutterwave
Estimated loss: $24 million
Year: 2023
In 2024, Flutterwave secured a court order to recover $24 million lost due to unauthorised POS transactions by merchants.
The High Court’s Mareva injunction allowed Flutterwave to reclaim funds from over 6,000 account holders across 35 banks and financial institutions, that may have spent the funds transferred during an October 2023 technical glitch.
