Bankers Committee in Nigeria establishes E-Fraud Database to track fraudsters

The level of fraudulent acts in and around the world has gotten out of the bag. Many countries’ set back is basically as a result of these negative acts. Fraud constitutes one of the financial crimes in Nigeria. It is very common and it manifests itself in virtually all aspects of national life. As a result, the nation, organizations and individuals have lost huge funds to fraudulent practices which has to stop.

Nigerian bankers have found this financial crime really disturbing. The frequent reports from customers on money disappearance from their accounts without any trace of the debiter have caused many havoc in the banking industry.

Recently, the Bankers Committee confirmed that it will establish a database that will capture suspected electronic fraud in the banking industry with the aim of blacklisting suspected fraudsters. It was observed that most of the financial frauds in the country take place on the internet which will soon be curbed and corrected.

The committee is composed of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and chief executives of all the commercial banks in Nigeria.

During the press conference at the end of the committee’s meeting in Lagos recently, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, said:
“Part of the deliberation was that there is need to create a central depositary which is a database of suspected fraud through the system.”

He further said:
“Once that data base is set up and there is suspected case going through the system we can have ways of ensuring there is strong deterrent for people who are known as fraudsters within the system”.

In addition, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Charles Kie, emphasized that the committee was committed to supporting the economy and help the country get out of recession. He said the database will help to secure the citizens’ fund which will definitely encourage growth.

He said:
“Overall, what the Bankers Committee also reemphasized was the need for all the banks to continue supporting the economy and ensure that they can effectively help the country get out the recession.”

The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have continued to adopt various means in combating financial fraud. Some of these means include the establishment of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). These means have not been able to tackle the electronic financial fraud which is why Bankers Committee has decided to carry out the database detection in order to secure people’s money online and also track the fraudsters.