Abuja cocktail

COCKTAIL GOSSIP

HOW STERLING BANK MANAGER INNOCENT PAUL STOLE N220MIL CUSTOMERS MONEY IN ABUJA

---Used his position as their accounting officer

-----Bank sheilds him from prosecution and refuses to refund stolen money

For many Abuja residents who banked with the Garki Branch of the Sterling Bank, especially those who had Innocent Paul as their accounting officer, it has been a world of betrayal and perplexion in the last six months or so. They had trusted the sytem, given money to Innocent Paul, allowed him to have access to their account and in a few instances given hin directives on movement of money from their account with Sterling bank to other accounts. But that was their undoing as the man they trusted ended up stealing their money. Innocent might have looked Innocent but he was not in any way Innocent when it came to stealing depositors’ money especially those who him he handled their accounts and who reposed trust in him.

Some lost as much as twenty million Naira others were lucky as they lost lesser amount. A particular lady lost 8million Naira while a seventy something year old widow lost one hundred thousand Naira. Curiously, the stealing did not take a short while as the guy was alleged to have done it over a long period of time.

Sources gathered that what he did was that he abused his personal contact with the customers so that when they asked him to help pay money into their account, he diverted such money and when they raised an eyebrow he told them that he had invested the money in a mortgage business. He would plead that they should give him a short while so that he could get the money back only for him to look for other customers who fall victim to use their money to pay the earlier ones.

In a couple of cases customers who had used him to withdraw money from their accounts without recourse to their cheque books were also swindled as Inocent Paul used the opportunity to clean their accounts. What baffled many of the customers was the fact that such a crime could be committed without his bossses in the bank being involved or being in the know as the bank now claims. Many of the customers have also been asking where for the pictures and details of those who cashed money in their accounts if he claimed that he wasn’t the one who took their money.

The bank has been claiming that any customer who chose to deal with their accounting officer neglecting laid down banking rules has himslef or herself to blame. Some of the customers are on the verge of going to court, while others have accepted fate for the abuse of trust. Meanwhile the guy at the centre of teh whole scam is cololing his heels in Garki Police station according to sources, the bank officials decided that it was better the banker stayed with the police in the sense that his safety could not be guaranteed as death threats have been coming.

Based on this,  Innocent Paul who was only made an Assistant Maanger had to stay with Police till a few weeks ago when he was allegedly released and told to find a eway of ensuring that those after him do not get him as his life is definitely at risk. Before then, he was belived to have been with the Police for not less than six months without being cahrged to court. Meanwhile it was also gathered that he could not explain where all the money went to when he was arrested by the Police. It is widely believed that he had fallen victim of 419ners as he had nothing to show for the over Two Hundred and Twenty Million Naira that he stole from customers who trusted him with their money.

Despite teh uproar generated by the fraud, the Bank is keeping quiet. Indeed, we gathered that the reason why the bank has decided not to arrange an out of court settlement with any of the affected customers is the fact that this could mean paying as much as the whole 220 milion Naira and other charges for its carelessness and complacency with depositors’ money. Meanwhile it is presently facing a litany of suits in Abuja courts over the scandal.