The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has narrated how two army officers allegedly colluded with two employees of the United Bank for Africa Plc to divert the sum of N339m from the account of the Military Pensions Board.

Magu in a letter to the Chief of Defence Staff, said the suspects opened 33 accounts with UBA into which the MPB’s funds were diverted.

The acting EFCC Chairman said in his letter with reference number EFCC/EC/CDS/66/16 that the total sum of N339,374,478.58 was withdrawn from the MPB account across the counter or transferred to other accounts in the bank.

The suspects are Wing Commander Ishaka Yakubu; and an Assistant Director, Computer, with the MPB, Lieutenant Commander Akinbamidele Odunsi.

Magu in the letter said “Investigation discovered that fraudulent accounts were opened by the Business Manager, Mrs Violet Ofoegbunam, and relationship manager, Mrs Kolade Aderemi Abidemi, thereby compromising the ‘Know Your Customer’ requirements with the connivance of the two military officers.

“Thirty-three accounts were identified to have fraudulently received payments to the tune of N339,374,478.58 from Military Pensions Board between April and June 2016.”

He noted that all the 33 accounts into which the money was diverted had been frozen.

He said out of the stolen N339m, the sum of N314m had been recovered and kept in the EFCC Recovery Account.

Azeez