The Adamawa State High Court has convicted a former managing director of Bonghe Micro Finance Bank of theft, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the statement on Thursday, the judge, Benjamin Manji, found Grace Karka guilty of stealing N32 million from the microfinance bank.
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In his judgement delivered on 17 October, the judge sentenced her to five years imprisonment with an option of N3 million fine on the two counts. Mr Manji ordered the sentences to run concurrently
The judge also ordered that the convict make the restitution of N29,877.040 to Bonghe Micro Finance Bank.
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The EFCC instituted the case following a petition from the microfinance bank.
The commission arraigned Ms Karka on 11 November 2024 on two counts of criminal conspiracy and cheating.
One of the counts accused her and one Moses Batalu of conspiring to steal N66.8 million (N66,792,960) from Bonghe Micro Finance Bank Nigeria Limited with account number 2013668857 domiciled with First bank Nigeria Limited.
The commission alleged that the duo carried out their conspiracy between August 2020 and March 2021 in Yola, Adamawa State “by dishonestly moving the said sum without necessary approval”.
The charges were brought under section 61(2) of the Adamawa State Penal Code Law 2018.
During the trial, EFCC’s lawyer, Mubarak Tijani, presented witnesses and documents.
Ms Karka’s lawyer also called three witnesses. The lawyer’s name was not stated in the statement.
‘Audit exposed theft’
According to EFCC’s statement, the Bonghe Micro Finance Bank sent its petition after an audit revealed suspicious transfer to a non-customer.
After further investigation, the bank found out that Ms Karka, who was the managing director, made the transfer of N32 million to Mr Batalu “without the necessary approval.”
The bank’s efforts to recover the money proved abortive, which prompted the trial.
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This case is only one among numerous cases where former bank officials have been convicted of theft.
The Lagos State High Court in 2019 sent a former Managing Director of New Prudential Mortgage Bank Limited, Adetunji Abudu, to two years’ imprisonment for N195m fraud.
Similarly, in 2021, a former manager at Sterling Bank and Account Relationship Officer of OHHA Microfinance Bank, Oliver Anidiobi, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for N219 million fraud in Enugu.
In 2022, the Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction of a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc, Francis Atuche, for N25.7 billion fraud.
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