By JKNewsMedia
FORMER DIRECTORS of the Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) caused the institution to lose billions in losses after stealing funds, manipulating reports, hiding over N250 billion in losses, and diverted foreign loans, a media release states.
According to the statement, investigators found that $300 million in foreign loans was added without protection, forcing the bank to shoulder the burden.
It also adds that the directors used the bank’s own funds to purchase its shares and improperly withdrew over $100 million, leaving the institution exposed.
Also, loans meant for customers were secretly redirected into undisclosed transactions, while false reports were submitted to lenders, the release says.
By 2025, these actions had generated nearly N400 billion in losses and over N147 billion in unpaid charges, adding that the bank was on the brink of collapse before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped in to stabilise it.
The release also emphasises that the theft extended beyond simple mismanagement.
It says depositors’ money was treated as a private wallet, while senior executives engineered a system designed to conceal losses and misappropriate funds, the statement read.
Investigators uncovered that billions of dollars were deliberately hidden, leaving the bank struggling and vulnerable.
The misuse of bank funds to purchase its own shares represents an “outrageous betrayal of trust,” the release laments.
Loans intended for genuine customers were siphoned into undisclosed and high-risk transactions, creating exposure and financial instability, also adding that false reports sent to lenders compounded the crisis, misleading both regulators and partners.
However, the media release notes that UBN is now stabilising, but recovery is occurring slowly despite the actions of the former directors, not because of them.
Also, the statement makes clear that the directors did not create value but destroyed it, leaving nearly N400 billion in losses and over N147 billion in unpaid charges.
It says that the CBN’s intervention prevented wider collapse, the release adds, underscoring the scale of the misappropriation.
However, it concludes that Nigerians deserve to remember those responsible, highlighting the severity of the theft and the calculated exploitation of the bank’s resources.
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