Providus Bank Under EFCC Investigation For Alleged Illegal Withdrawal Of N270m From Customer’s Account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently investigating Providus Bank Limited and its officials following reports of an unauthorized #270 million withdrawal from a customer’s account, which has led to significant legal and regulatory scrutiny for the lender. This probe adds to the bank’s recent legal challenges, including the Federal High Court’s final forfeiture order for $7 million stashed in its vault. While the Daily Post Nigeria reported that the $7 million was abandoned and subsequently seized by the government, the bank remains under fire for failing to file Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) as required by the Lawyard guidelines.

The legal dispute centers on a #300 million blocked fund facility provided by Cornerblock to Boon Sales & Marketing Limited in late 2023, following a formal credit agreement finalized in January 2024. From this facility, #270 million was disbursed directly into Boon Sales’ account at Providus Bank Limited, marking the start of a transaction that would eventually lead to allegations of high-level financial fraud and forgery.

Cornerblock maintains that the disbursement was strictly regulated by a joint signatory mandate and an irrevocable lien, ensuring the funds could not be moved without their express written consent. These safeguards were intended to protect the capital while it sat in the Providus Bank account, with the lender asserting that no withdrawal should have been legally possible without their direct authorization.

Despite these stringent controls, Cornerblock alleges the #270 million was withdrawn in an unauthorized manner, claiming that the documents used to lift the lien and approve the transfers were forged. The company contends it neither signed nor approved any such transactions, a claim that has drawn intense scrutiny from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of a broader investigation into suspicious activities at the bank, including the recent forfeiture of $7 million found in its vaults.

Cornerblock further alleged that the Providus Bank staff member responsible for managing the account and facilitating the movement of funds became completely unreachable immediately after the transaction. This sudden disappearance has fueled suspicions of internal collusion, suggesting that the unauthorized withdrawal was aided by an insider who bypassed the bank’s security protocols and joint signatory requirements.

Following the disappearance of the funds, the firm stated that its repeated demands for a refund or a clear explanation were systematically ignored by the bank’s management. Left with no other recourse, Cornerblock filed a formal petition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has since launched a full-scale investigation, including a formal request for all relevant transaction documents and internal logs from Providus Bank.

The company maintains that these allegations specifically the claims of forgery and unauthorized withdrawals fall squarely within the EFCC’s statutory mandate to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

This probe adds to the lender’s mounting legal troubles, following the recent $7 million vault seizure, as the agency looks into whether the bank failed in its duty to protect customer assets and report suspicious activities.

In response to the escalating investigation, Providus Bank Limited has filed an originating motion for judicial review at the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from further involvement in the matter. The bank contends that the dispute over the #270 million transaction is a purely civil and contractual issue arising from the routine operation of a corporate account, arguing that the anti-graft agency’s interference constitutes “harassment” and exceeds its criminal jurisdiction.

Specifically, the lender is asking the court to quash a December 19, 2025, request for documents issued by the EFCC and to bar the agency from “further investigating, inviting, or summoning” its officials. This legal counteroffensive comes amid heightened scrutiny of the bank, which recently faced a Federal High Court’s final forfeiture order for $7 million found in its vaults. While the bank’s counsel argues for a perpetual injunction to protect its internal records, the EFCC continues to probe whether the bank failed to report suspicious transaction reports linked to the disputed funds.

In a strategic legal move, Providus Bank has formally requested the court to restrain Cornerblock from utilizing the EFCC as a tool for debt recovery. The bank argues that the dispute is strictly a commercial claim rather than a criminal matter, asserting that the anti-graft agency should not be used to enforce civil obligations or settle disagreements arising from private business contracts.

According to recent court records, the Federal High Court on February 25, 2026, granted the lender leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the EFCC’s probe.

Crucially, the court ordered that this leave serve as a temporary stay of action, effectively halting all EFCC invitations, summons, and investigations related to the #270 million transaction until the legal challenge is resolved.

The case, which centers on the fine line between civil contract disputes and criminal financial fraud, is currently pending before Justice Daniel Osiagor at the Federal High Court in Lagos. With the stay order in place, all parties are now preparing for a substantive hearing scheduled for July 3, 2026, which will determine if the EFCC has the statutory right to continue its investigation into the alleged unauthorized withdrawal.