The House of Representatives has passed a bill for second reading seeking to protect victims of fraudulent withdrawal from accounts.
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act(BOFIA), 2020 to make Provision for the Protection of Victims of Fraudulent Withdrawal from Accounts and for Related Matters (HB.1168), the proposed legislation is sponsored by Hon. Moses Oluwatoyin Fayinka (APC, Lagos).
Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, the lawmaker
The proposed legislation seeks to stop illegal fund transactions, where monies are moved from the customer’s account without the customer’s authorisation for such transactions.
He said: “There is an alarming rise of bank fraud or unauthorised withdrawal of deposit funds in Nigeria. In the banking industry, about 101,801 cases were reported in 2022, and 48,703 cases were reported in 2023, making bank customers lose several billions of naira.
“This Bill is in consideration of the uprising of various financial crimes within the country, with many of such passing through financial institutions, or we can call it the commercial banking system.
“Dear Honourable colleagues, we all know that virtually all banking transactions are done electronically, which means that transactions can either be ATM, POS, direct cash transfer, fast cash, and many others, in which many bank customers have fallen victim and have lost their hard-earned fortune without help from any side.
“The bank must protect customers’ funds by monitoring its movement. For most of us here today, before the money leaves our account, the bank, through its account officers, makes contacts to know if the customer is in authorisation of such a transaction; however, banks have neglected the duty of protecting their customers as regards the safeguarding of their monies in the case of e-transactions.”
He said that when passed, the legislation would stop banks from covering up such syndicates without reporting such actions to the receiving bank and the police for necessary action.
“For the banks, both the paying and receiving banks, to get the culprit arrested and prosecuted and to pay all necessary bills during the recovery processes… refund the victim’s account without charges.
“The amendment will go a long way to curtail electronic means of funds stealing that pass through the banking platforms to their destination, and as we know its nature, these amendments are long overdue,” Fayinka added.
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