FIRST BANK NOW SAFE HAVEN FOR YAHOO BOYS… AS MD, BISI ONASANA FINGERED IN $MULTI MILLION SCAM

As the Federal Government, is making serious effort to curb the increasing rate, at which Nigerians perpetrate internet fraud, through the proposed Cybercrime Bill, that will soon be enacted, into law, there are indications that some financial institutions are thwarting the effort.

Despite the stringent punishment prescribed by the bill, the urge to make money by illegal means is still the order of the day among internet scammers popularly known as Yahoo Yahoo boys. What has also given these scammers courage to move on their illicit act is the help of some corrupt bank officials who help them to protect their illegal funds from anti graft agencies.
Societywatch can reveal that many officials of First Bank Nigeria are accomplices, to this criminal enterprise. Those who have monitored activities at the Ikorodu, Ketu and Ajao Estate, all Lagos branches of the Bisi Onasanya led bank can attest that, the officials in the banks, aid Yahoo Yahoo boys with impunity.
An insider divulged, ‘once the Yahoo guys shows up, the bank workers, will abandon legitimate customers to attend to them, because of the ‘cuts’ they get from the illicit transactions, leaving other customers frustrated’.’Atimes it leads to serious altercations, between other customers and the bank officials. They don’t care, all they will say, is what will you offer me If I leave my ‘cash cow’ to attend to you, leaving many genuine customers, disappointed, by the unethical behavior.

As many still discuss this growing trend in First Bank branches across Lagos, investigations recently unraveled another major scandal. Reports suggests, a fund amounting to over $76million supposedly kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria and purportedly under the control of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been siphoned out for unapproved and unauthorized expenses and budgets. Societywatch gather that, the fund, which is in excess of N11billion has been spent over different contracts awarded by the former Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah and the Managing Director of FAAN, George Uriesi without following due process, no approval of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), no due process certificate issued, and no federal Executive Council approval. Digs into the matter reveal that the spending were neither budgeted nor appropriated in the 2012 Budget passed by the National Assembly, had no Federal Executive Council Approval and did not comply with the spending limits allowed by the delegated financial authority of the Government. It could be recalled that Stella Oduah was disgraced out of office, over abuse of office and misappropriation of funds amounting to billions of naira, when she was still a minister. The former Aviation Minister, was alleged to have used First Bank many times to perfect her financial misappropriation. Funds in the BASA account was said to be splitted into private accounts of contractors and some parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Aviation, in which First Bank of Nigeria is also a major beneficiary amongst other banks Now that the $76million is said to have been diverted and spent, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has now devised a new method to further divert and spend all the current BASA income of over $80million received from the foreign airlines operating into Nigeria. For instance, we hear the payments by airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates etc amounted to over $80million are now being diverted. This alarming situation of complete depletion of the BASA fund without any appropriation from the National Assembly or approval from the Presidency or Federal Executive Council or Bureau for Public Procurement is worrisome. All efforts to inquire into the allegations from the Head Marketing and Corporate Communications department of the financial institution, met a brick wall, before the story, was published.
-With additional report from www.urbanlifeng.com