SNAPSHOT: MTN $53 Million Fraud Accusation of 18 Nigerian Banks

Barely a week after the commencement of its operations, MoMo PSB experienced a major security breach, resulting in the loss of N22 billion ($53 million). 

The chief executive officer of MoMo PSB, Usoro Usoro, said that on May 24, 2022, funds had been erroneously transferred by the company from its settlement account to various customer accounts across various banks. The affected banks listed as defendants in the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/960/2022, are Access Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Heritage Bank, Polaris Bank and Providus Bank, StanbicIBTC, Standard Chartered, Sterling Bank, Suntrust Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Unity Bank, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.

• According to the telco company, the transfers were stopped after noticing the cyber-fraud on May 25, which led to a temporary suspension of services that was eased within 24hrs. 
• The case filed by MoMo PSB in the court asked that all of the affected banks reveal how much of the $53 million they received in their customers' accounts.
• Unauthorized withdrawals ran to the tone of 700,000
• The amount of account transfer errors recorded were eight thousand in number
• the number of commercial banks affected by the attack were eighteen

ABOUT MTN & MOMO PSB

Momo Payment Service Bank (PSB) is the fintech subsidiary of MTN Nigeria. The platform enables you make purchases, pay bills, send, receive, and save money an affordable way. It commenced its operations in May 2022 following the Central Bank of Nigeria's approval in April.

MTN Group is one of Africa's leading telecommunications service providers, offering cellular network access and business solutions since it was established in 1994, and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.