Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier accused Olayiwola, along with Chinedu Ihuma and Igwe George Benedict Obinna, also former ICT staff members of the bank, of orchestrating a massive fraud.
Idris Babatunde Olayiwola, a former ICT staff member of Globus Bank, has firmly denied allegations of hacking and stealing N3.5 billion from the bank’s customers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier accused Olayiwola, along with Chinedu Ihuma and Igwe George Benedict Obinna, also former ICT staff members of the bank, of orchestrating a massive fraud.
According to the EFCC, the trio allegedly exploited their insider knowledge to access and siphon funds from customer accounts.
Olayiwola has, however, said he is innocent, stating that he had no involvement in any fraudulent activities.
Reacting to the allegations in a statement sent to SaharaReporters, Mr. Olayiwola said during his time at Globus Bank, he led the team overseeing the Core Banking Application.
He said, “I attended meetings with top executives. I was always the junior and youngest person in those settings and took instructions to assist in putting in place some transaction structures line with my work.
“Fearing for my career, I decided to leave the bank. I received an offer from KPMG as an Assistant Manager in the Technology and Enablement Department. I accepted a pay cut to join KPMG in September 2021.”
He said his primary reason for leaving was simple – because he feared for his life and career as a young man with all the unethical things happening at Globus Bank.
He said when the Managing Director of the bank received news of his departure, he was very angry and offered him a lucrative salary, which he declined.
“In September 2021, I joined KPMG, and my relationship with Globus Bank ended there. KPMG was the best place I worked in my entire career.
“As a young man in Lagos, everyone aspires to ‘Japa’ and leave the country. When the opportunity arose for my wife in 2021, she travelled to the UK in December 2021, and I joined her in the UK in May 2022. During my stay in the UK, I continued to work with KPMG until I officially resigned in September 2022. Since then, I have been in the UK,” he said.
Olayiwola explained that he was surprised when he saw an online news report accusing him of working with some staff members at Globus Bank to perpetrate fraud.
He said, “The bank claimed that a fraud occurred and that I was involved. How can this be possible when I have been in the UK since May 2022? My only relationship with Globus Bank since leaving was having a bank account like any other customer.
“As part of the news released by Nairametrics, they claimed I employed someone before leaving the bank. How could this be possible? Am I the Human Resource Manager who employed staff? How could a single person hire another person in a bank while leaving? These are questions that need answers, and there are many more.
“Also, it was claimed that I took over a staff password to post transactions. Even at the bank branch level, access to the bank vault or to post transactions was given to two staff members.”
He said that not only were back-end servers behind the network firewalls, but there were also operational procedures and guidelines to ensure no staff member or IT officer had access at any point in time.
He continued, “I am surprised at the manner of allegations coming from an organisation dealing with people’s assets. There is no financial institution anywhere in the world or in Nigeria where a single individual will be given access to critical servers or applications in the bank.
“In December 2023, I noticed an unsolicited account being opened for me at Globus Bank. I received an email about the account opening and immediately informed the bank that I did not authorise it.
“As someone, who has worked in the bank, I suspected there must be some malpractice going on wherein accounts can be opened for individuals without their authorization. I sent messages to the bank to inform them I did not authorise the opening of any account for me as I don’t need it.
“I was advised to instigate a lawsuit against them for such a scary act. I do not know the purpose behind these actions. I believe someone in the bank perpetrated fraud and looked for an exit plan. As of now, I have not received any call or invitation from the bank or any law enforcement agency regarding these accusations.”
“All I have seen is that the professional reputation and career I am building are being ruined by some individuals who place no value on individual industry,” he said.
Olayiwola accused Globus Bank of deliberately hiding some fraudulent and unethical practices within their organisation, adding that implicating him “is ungodly”.
He added that Globus Bank was not the last organisation he worked for in Nigeria.
He said, “I left Globus Bank in 2021, as such the attempt to soil my time and reputation with the bank is evil.
“Lastly, it is essential to mention that the main reason I left Globus Bank was due to their shady and unethical transactions at the top level, which I and other top executives were exposed to. I did not threaten to expose these when I left. My goal was to work in a safe environment where I could grow in my career, which is why I moved to KPMG.
“These baseless accusations against me must be addressed with the truth. My professional journey has been one of dedication, integrity, and hard work. I refuse to be a scapegoat for the unethical practices of others.
“Top former executives of Bank Globus Bank who share my concerns have reached out to me and I have begged they help clear my name. My reputation, built on years of honest work, will not be tarnished by these false claims. I stand ready to defend my name and set the record straight.”
Attempts to contact Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, for a response to Olayiwola’s claims were unsuccessful, as he declined to answer calls and ignored a text message sent to him.
Credit: Saharareporters
