Wema Bank Plc is currently battling to recover about N2.9 billion funds allegedly withdrawn from the bank without authorization due to a system glitch.
In a lawsuit filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos, the bank is seeking a preservative order requiring the financial institutions involved to return the funds amounting to N2,906,226,083 that have been traced to accounts within their institutions.
The legal action follows an operational failure in Wema Bank’s core banking system on January 16, 2025, which led to the unauthorized transfer of the funds from customers’ accounts.
According to an affidavit by the bank’s Head of Special Review and Investigation, Kehinde Buari, the system glitch resulted in unintended transactions impacting accounts both within Wema Bank and 26 defendant financial institutions.
In response, Wema Bank said it launched an internal investigation to trace and recover the missing funds. While part of the unauthorized transactions was found within the bank’s own system, a significant portion was discovered in external accounts linked to the defendants.
The bank further disclosed that the total sum of N888,301,598.15 has been salvaged by some of the financial institutions.
Investigations revealed that some recipients attempted to hide or obscure the origin of the funds by transferring them between multiple accounts.
Wema Bank quickly alerted the affected financial institutions about the glitch and the fraudulent transactions, requesting that they freeze the affected accounts.
To support its ongoing recovery efforts, Wema Bank’s internal audit and legal teams compiled reports tracing the movement of the funds, identifying the recipient accounts, and detailing the amounts recovered so far.
The bank also engaged the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to track the funds across several financial institutions, which led to further communication with the defendant banks regarding the unauthorized transfers.
Wema Bank is now seeking a court order compelling the 26 financial institutions to return the recovered funds and any additional amounts that can still be traced.
The bank is also requesting that the court direct the institutions to provide details of account holders who received and dissipated the unauthorized funds, to enable law enforcement agencies to carry out further investigations and recover additional funds.
Furthermore, Wema Bank is asking the court to place the affected account holders on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Credit Risk Management System and other financial watchlists via their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) until the full recovery of the stolen funds.
The bank emphasized that, while some of the affected financial institutions have taken initial steps to restrict the unauthorized transactions, a formal court order is essential to ensure full compliance and restitution.
Wema Bank warned that failing to obtain the required legal directives could lead to the release of the frozen funds, undermining their recovery efforts.
TCN reports that this incident is not the first of its kind in Nigeria. In January, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) secured a court order to recover ₦1.9 billion that was mistakenly credited to customer accounts due to a system error in October 2024.
These incidents are raising concerns about how Nigerian banks protect interbank transactions, especially as transaction volumes increase. Some analysts suggest that outdated infrastructure and weak oversight could be contributing to the growing risk of errors and fraud.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged above $100,000 on Thursday for the first time since February.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose alongside the overall market after President Trump unveiled a trade deal with the UK, signaling a deescalation of tariffs.
Coinbase’s (COIN) announcement earlier in the day about the crypto exchange’s deal to acquire options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion also helped boost sentiment in the sector.
Bitcoin rose as much as 4% to trade north of $100,900 near 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday as Trump spoke in the Oval Office about the UK agreement and indicated other countries also want to strike trade deals with the US.
Bitcoin fell as low as $75,000 in the days following Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff announcement on April 2, otherwise known as “Liberation Day.”
Bitcoin sentiment has grown increasingly bullish during the stock market’s recovery. Signs that companies are taking a cue from firms like Strategy (MSTR) and adding crypto to their balance sheets have also bolstered sentiment toward the sector.
In a note earlier this week, Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said approximately 80 companies have “adopted the ‘Bitcoin Standard,’ adding Bitcoin treasury exposure to their balance sheets, owning ~3.4% of the total BTC supply.”
“The implications for Bitcoin — more resilient corporate/institutional capital supporting through the cycle downturns and accelerated supply squeeze as public corporates continue buying Bitcoin,” Chhugani added.
Year to date, bitcoin is up more than 8%.
Coinbase Global (COIN) has reached an agreement to acquire crypto options platform Deribit for $2.9 billion, one of the most significant deals ever for the cryptocurrency industry.
The deal marks another milestone for Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, after missing out for years on the wider transaction volumes and margins that other exchanges captured from derivatives trading.
Coinbase’s stock rose over 4% on the announcement. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal.
“This isn’t just more products — it’s deeper liquidity, tighter spreads, and better tools for institutional and retail traders alike,” Greg Tusar, Coinbase’s head of institutional product, said in an emailed statement.
Deribit “isn’t just another addition,” he added in a blog post.
The acquisition follows Coinbase’s purchase of asset manager One River Digital in 2023, derivatives exchange FairX in 2022, crypto brokerage platform Tagomi in 2020, and custody business Xapo in 2019.
Coinbase is paying for Deribit with a mix of its own common stock and $700 million in cash.
The deal is the latest example of how the crypto industry has emerged as one of the few bright spots for merger and acquisition activity this year, even as other industries hold back amid the economic uncertainties triggered by President Trump’s trade wars and tariffs.
The biggest driver of that crypto optimism is Trump’s continued embrace of digital assets. He is pushing for more favorable regulation of the industry, and Coinbase is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
Some other big crypto deals so far this year include Coinbase’s US rival Kraken announcing an agreement to purchase crypto futures trading platform Ninja Trader for $1.5 billion in March and Ripple Labs agreeing last month to buy crypto broker and financing firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion.
Coinbase reports first quarter earnings Thursday afternoon. Its profits are expected to decline, while net revenue is expected to jump compared to a year ago. It recognized a $737 accounting gain on its crypto asset holdings in the first three months of last year.
TCN reports that Bank customers in Nigeria will begin paying N6 for each SMS transaction alert starting Thursday, May 1, 2025, following an upward adjustment in telecommunications service rates recently approved by the federal government.
The new fee represents a 50 percent increase from the previous N4 charge per message and has been communicated by several commercial banks to their customers ahead of the implementation.
Guaranty Trust Bank Limited was among those that issued notices. In an email to customers titled “Increase in SMS Transaction Alert Fee,” the bank explained that the revision was necessitated by higher charges from telecommunications providers. “Dear Valued Customer, Please be informed that effective Thursday, May 1, 2025, the SMS transaction alert fee will increase from N4 to N6 per message. This adjustment is due to a recent increase in telecom rates as communicated by the telecommunication service providers,” the notice read.
The bank emphasized the importance of SMS alerts, stating they are essential tools for customers to monitor and maintain control over their account activities. It also noted that SMS alerts sent to international phone numbers would incur additional charges.
The increase in telecom rates and corresponding adjustment in SMS alert fees come amid broader concerns over rising costs of living and digital access in the country.
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