ome customers of Polaris bank are currently not comfortable with the safety of their deposits on account of current ugly development whereby the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned a staff of the bank, formerly Skye Bank Plc, Babatunde Keshinro, in an Ikeja Special Offences Court for allegedly forging a customer’s cheque and stealing the sum of N22.3m.
The EFCC charged Keshinro with nine counts bordering on theft, forgery and fraudulent use of the account.
The EFCC Counsel, Mrs Bilikisu Buhari, said that the Polaris Bank staff committed the offence from 2016 to 2018 in Lagos.
Buhari alleged that Keshinro stole funds belonging to one Alhaji Ganiyu Oseni, whose account he managed.
“The defendant knowingly forged Baritos Nigeria Ltd’s document titled “Part Termination of Fixed Deposit – 1770522625 dated Dec. 12, 2016, and purported to have been signed and issued by Oseni.
“Sometime in August 2018, Keshinro forged a Skye bank cheque number 47423262 dated Aug. 16, 2018 in the sum of N340,000 which was purportedly signed and issued by Oseni.
“In May 2017, he forged a Skye bank cheque with number 35744848 dated May 22, 2017 for the sum of N303,000 also purportedly issued by Oseni.
“Another Skye bank cheque with number 35744834 in the sum of N971,000 also purportedly issued by the complainant,” she said.
According to the EFCC prosecutor, the defendant also forged three more Skye bank cheques which he fraudulently claimed were signed by Oseni.
The anti-graft agency alleged that on June 2018 Keshinro forged a cheque 47423247 dated June 12, 2018, for the sum of N410,000