An ex-banker with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) plc has been sentenced to 28 years imprisonment for N143.6m fraud.
Justice Ibrahim Nasir Buba convicted Okpalangwu of stealing the bank’s N146,633.000 in a Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday.
Okpalangwu was arraigned in November 2012 on a three-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.
The SFU amended the charge and on February 2, 2018, re-arraigned her on four counts of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretense, in a charge marked FHC/L/241c/13.
The judge sentenced her to seven years on each of the four-count charge of stealing filed against her by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos.
Justice Buba said: “The convict is hereby ordered to restitute to FCMB the sum of N146,633,000.00 fraudulently obtained from the bank,”
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The Nation Online reports that the prosecution counsel, Chukwu Agwu, a Superintendent of Police, told the court that Okpalangwu committed the offence while in the bank’s employment.
According to Agwu, she conspired with Bizmate Nigeria Ltd and members of its staff to defraud her bank of the money.
Her other conspirators, the court heard, were: Zulikah Zoni Anwail, Olakunle Wakajaiye, Blessing Gbajide, Alicia Onwukah, Ose Ekiosola. Uche Okolie, Olusegun Oladlmeji, who were said to be at large.
Okpalangwu and her conspirators also forged bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards of Guaranty Trust Bank, identity cards, passports and cheque books, with which she opened a bank account numbered: 0779808013 with FCMB, for Bizmate, which was used to fraudulently obtain a credit facility valued at N146, 633 million.