The Federal High Court in Abuja has extended a freeze order on 818 bank accounts linked to an alleged N10 billion cyberattack on the Hope Payment Service Bank (PSB) platform. The court’s decision, which extends the freeze for an additional 30 days, aims to facilitate ongoing investigations into suspected proceeds of crime.
Justice James Omotosho granted the order on Monday, following a motion ex parte submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). This motion, identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/1358/2024, includes charges against Jarnes Akagwu Isaac, Akwubo Gosent, Shirsha Paul Terver, and 815 other defendants. Multiple banks were also listed in the case. The police argued that the accounts in question were used to transfer funds obtained through fraudulent activities, making the freeze necessary for a thorough investigation.
According to an affidavit submitted by Muhammed Idris, a staff member of the Nigeria Police Force, a petition was filed with the IGP’s office by the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Hope PSB. The petition accused some of the defendants of fraud, illegal diversion, and conspiracy. Idris stated, “That as a result of the fraudulent activities and cyberattacks on the banking platform of the nominal complainant, they lost the sum of N10,000,000,000.00 (10 billion naira), which has now been transferred/diverted to various accounts of the 1st to 818th defendants/respondents in an attempt to flitter away with the proceeds of crime.”
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The police investigation revealed that the N10 billion loss from Hope PSB was distributed across the accounts of all 818 defendants, leading to the current legal action to freeze these accounts. The IGP’s team emphasized that these funds were laundered through various accounts, making the freezing order a critical step to prevent further movement of the money.
This recent court order builds on a previous 14-day freeze that allowed the police to notify the involved financial institutions of the action. However, not all institutions had received the order at the time, which necessitated the extension.
In July, Hope PSB announced that it had thwarted a major cyberattack on its banking platform, successfully recovering a significant portion of the targeted funds. Despite this recovery, the N10 billion in losses has prompted continued legal action and efforts to trace the money’s flow through the banking system.