A former employee of Polaris Bank, Abiodun Maccarthy, has been arraigned before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged ₦423 million fraud involving a customer’s fixed deposit investment.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought Maccarthy before the court on Thursday, July 31, 2025, on a four-count charge bordering on stealing and forgery. The charges are said to violate Sections 278 and 361(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
According to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the defendant allegedly diverted ₦423 million out of a ₦650 million deposit made in 2018 by Great Endurance Bureau De Change for personal use while still employed at the bank.
To conceal the fraud, Maccarthy reportedly forged a fixed deposit certificate bearing slip number 332540, which he issued to the client as proof of investment.
One of the charges reads: “Abiodun Maccarthy, sometime in 2018 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of ₦423,000,000.00, money which forms part of ₦650,000,000.00 paid to you by Great Endurance Bureau De Change for fixed deposit investment while you were in the bank’s employ.”
Another count alleges that he forged the certificate “with intent to defraud” and issued it to the client as evidence of the transaction.
Maccarthy pleaded not guilty to all charges. Following his plea, prosecution counsel B. M. Isah requested a trial date and asked the court to remand the defendant in a Correctional Centre. Justice Dada granted the request and adjourned the case until October 22, 2025.
