First Bank transfer error has sent a customer, Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, to prison after he refused to return N1.5 billion mistakenly credited to his account.
Kingsley was convicted by a court and sentenced to one year in prison, with an option of a N5 million fine, for withholding the funds paid into his account by mistake.
During the trial, the court heard that the huge sum was transferred to Kingsley’s account in what prosecutors described as a First Bank transfer error, and that the bank repeatedly demanded a refund.
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However, Kingsley declined to return the money and allegedly told the court that he would rather go to jail than pay back the remaining balance.
The judge ruled that keeping the funds amounted to a criminal offence, stressing that money received through a First Bank transfer error does not legally belong to the recipient and must be returned once notified.
Kingsley was thereafter sentenced to one year in prison or to pay a fine of N5 million.