Story Highlights
- Haril Global Solutions Ltd and two others are challenging a court order that froze their accounts totaling N1.2 billion across multiple banks, alleging it was based on misleading information from Globus Bank and the EFCC.
- They argue that Globus Bank unilaterally imposed restrictions on their accounts, breaching their loan agreement, leading to legal actions and claims of malicious prosecution by the EFCC.
- The case, scheduled for July 24, 2024, involves allegations of hacking and financial mismanagement by ex-staff, with ongoing legal disputes aimed at overturning the freezing order and clearing their names.
The legal team of Haril Global Solutions Ltd and two others have urged the Federal High Court, Abuja, to set aside its interim order, which relied on allegations against ex-staff of Globus Bank allegedly hacking into customers’ N3.5 billion transactions, to freeze about N1,198,911,864.72 domiciled in Fidelity Bank, GT Bank, Access Bank, and Wema Bank.
Haril Global Solutions, Onobun Oluwaseun Olumide, and Afolabi Oluwaseun Adeniyi, in their motion on notice (dated July 1, 2024), exclusively seen by Nairametrics, maintained that the order was obtained through “misleading facts and misrepresentations” presented by Globus Bank and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nairametrics previously reported that the court order was made against the following account names: Haril Global Solutions Ltd, Abdullahi Abubakar Sadiq, Onobun Oluwaseun Olumide, and Oluwaseun Adeniyi Afolabi, following a request by the EFCC.
EFCC’s Case
EFCC counsel Olanrewaju Adeola had asked the court to freeze all the accounts in the interest of justice and stop all outward payments, operations, or transactions (including bills of exchange) on those accounts, in Suit No: FHC/CS/32/2024, citing its intelligence report.
The EFCC staff also informed the court that Globus Bank management had earlier approached the Federal High Court, Lagos, to place a Post No Debit (PND) order on the bank accounts where the monies had allegedly been diverted by its ex-staff, in order to prevent the depletion of the funds in the accounts.
Before the EFCC swooped in, the management of Globus Bank had in 2023 raised the alarm over the alleged hacking of their systems, indicting a few of their ex-staff who worked in the ICT department.
On January 23, 2024, Justice Inyang Ekwo temporarily froze the accounts in dispute and adjourned for the EFCC to provide reports of the final outcome of its investigation.
Affected parties dispute EFCC’s claims
In their processes, the applicants’ lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq, argued that contrary to the alleged intelligence report of the EFCC, the anti-graft agency is allegedly currently being used as a tool in the hands of Globus Bank Limited, with whom his client entered into a purely civil loan and bank overdraft transaction.
He argued that Globus Bank Limited had, prior to the commencement of the suit by the EFCC, unilaterally placed restrictions on the bank account of Haril Global Solutions in an alleged blatant breach of the contractual agreement between the parties.
In an affidavit deposed by Rachel Monday, she stated that since December 2021, Globus Bank Limited had offered the applicant several overdraft loans totaling over N1 billion to enhance their working capital, and they have been doing their part to pay back, including paying N734,215,998.84 in interest between April 2023 and January 2024.
She submitted that the applicant had accepted the offers and provided all required documents to Globus Bank Limited, maintaining a prompt payment record without defaults.
However, she stated that in November 2023, the applicant discovered a drastic reduction in their overdraft balance from N4 billion to N223,000,000, accompanied by restrictions and a post-no-debit on their accounts, compelling her clients to demand clarification through multiple inquiries.
“After this request from the applicants, on 21st December 2023, the applicants received a very disturbing email from Globus Bank Limited claiming to have sent the necessary details and deeming the applicants’ request as a diversionary antic, whilst also claiming that the applicants debited their overdraft account 1000085336 and cash collateral account, moved the funds to the account named Haril Global Solutions Limited, and subsequently transferred the funds to the beneficiaries shown in the list on the email, all amounting to the sum of N4,105,665,058.25.
“The applicants were utterly dismayed by these claims, chiefly due to the fact that Globus Bank Limited had, right from the inception of the initial overdraft and all other subsequent ones, placed restrictions on the facility such that the applicants cannot solely withdraw from the 1st applicant’s overdraft account, in addition to the fact that the applicants had, at every point in time, maintained a Debt Service Reserve fee sum of not less than One Hundred Million Naira in its Debt Service Reserve Account number 4000006572 with Globus Bank Limited in case of any default in interest, which the applicants never defaulted on in any way.
“The applicants also made it abundantly clear in the said emails that a cursory look at the names of the beneficiary accounts stated in Globus Bank Limited’s email of 21st December 2023 reveals that vital information such as the source account and transaction dates were omitted, which led the applicants to believe that Globus Bank Limited intentionally omitted to provide the same in order to create confusion and not give room for reviews and analysis by the applicants,” she added.
She explained that upon seeing the breach of the loan agreement and the manner in which Globus Bank Limited continued to make deductions from the applicants’ account, they communicated their intentions to the Bank of instituting an action against the bank for breach of contract.
“However, on becoming aware of the applicants’ intention to sue, Globus Bank Limited hurriedly and fraudulently, without just cause, instigated a petition against the applicants to the office of the EFCC over what is apparently and purely a loan, civil, and contractual transaction between the applicants and Globus Bank, all in a bid to use the instrumentality of law enforcement agencies to harass, intimidate, and maliciously persecute the applicants.
“As a result of the Post-No-Debit placed on the accounts of the 1st applicant, the applicants have lost the business goodwill of their clients and have, for this period, lost the gross sum of Ten Billion Naira (10,000,000,000.00) stemming from their inability to conduct business from all their accounts with Globus Bank Limited, Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Wema Bank due to Globus Bank Limited’s breach,” she added, urging the Court to quash the order for being based on alleged falsehood.
Nairametrics gathered that Justice Inyang Ekwo’s Court had fixed July 24, 2024, to hear the matter.
More insights
As seen in several court documents, Globus Bank, on December 21, 2023, obtained an order from the Federal High Court, Lagos, freezing the bank accounts associated with the suspects.
Nairametrics also reliably gathered that the suspects being probed by the EFCC had instituted a matter against the Commission and Globus Bank at the High Court of Justice, Maitama, FCT Abuja, in Suit No: CV/1841/24.
They seek to quash the legal moves made by the bank and EFCC.
Meanwhile, an ex-staff of the Bank (mentioned in EFCC’s case) denied the hacking allegations, accusing the financial institution of engaging in illegality.