How fraudsters hacked into Hope Bank, steal N10 billion

• A Nigerian court in Abuja has ordered the freezing of 818 bank accounts suspected to have received proceeds of crime
• The court order said the accounts are under investigation for an N10 billion cyberattack on Hope Payment Service Bank
• The court gave the 30-day freezing order to help the bank recover the funds which were moved into the accounts in a July cyber heist

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered an additional 30-day freezing of 818 bank accounts suspected of being involved in the alleged proceeds of crime from an N10 billion cyberattack on Hope Payment Service Bank.

The order, which the Inspector General of Police authorises, was granted by the court presided over by Justice James Omotosho on Monday, October 15, 2024. The court relied on a motion ex parte filed by the police.

Nigerian banks under cyberattack as fraudsters move N10 billion from a bank account Credit: Picture Alliance
Source: Getty Images

818 bank accounts identified in cyber attack

According to the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1358/2024, filed against James Akagwu Isaac, Akwubo Gosent, and others, including several banks, the IGP’s legal team said that the accounts via which the defendants were alleged to have received the crime proceeds were under investigation, hence the freeze.

In a deposed affidavit by Mohammed Idris, a member of staff of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, the IGP’s office filed the Managing Director of/Chief Financial Officer on behalf of Hope Bank, reporting a crime case, criminal diversion of funds, and conspiracy against one of the defendants.

Idris disclosed that a police investigation revealed that the bank lost N10 billion to the attack.

The police boss explained that it had submitted the freezing order to various financial institutions involved.

Zenith GTBank others beef up cybersecurity

In July, Legit.ng reported that Hope PSB averted a cyberattack on its banking platform and recovered billions of naira in the intended attack.

Recently, Nigerian banks have upgraded their core banking platforms to boost their cybersecurity and secure depositors’ funds.

Commercial banks’ tech upgrades in the past few weeks have caused severe concerns to customers, sending panic into bank customers in rural areas.

The situation is set to get worse as more banks announce that they will be upgrading their technology infrastructure in the coming weeks.

GTBank and Access send notices of downtime

These disruptions have heightened tensions, with some customers protesting outside some bank branches due to the prolonged delays in accessing their funds.

As Nigerians tried to overcome the disruptions, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank announced planned IT upgrades, which might cause prolonged downtime.

GTBank said it will transition to a new and solid Finacle Core Banking Applications Systems suite.

The bank said that customers will be unable to access its digital channels for 11 hours due to ongoing routine maintenance.

CBN suggests cybersecurity solution to Nigerian banks

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged banks in the country to invest heavily in cybersecurity.

The governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, said this in a panel discussion at the Nigeria Economic Summit (NES) in Abuja on "Fiscal and Monetary Policy Reforms: Removing Barriers to Private Sector Investment."

He said this amid concerns following announcement of service disruptions and system updates by Nigeria banks.

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Source: Legit.ng