The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it is investigating a former head of operations of a commercial bank, Obinna Nwaobi, over the alleged unauthorised diversion of N515 million belonging to a customer.

The commission, in a statement on Thursday, said its Enugu Zonal Directorate commenced the investigation following a petition dated June 22, 2026, from the bank, alleging that Mr Nwaobi authorised the withdrawal of the funds from a Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA) belonging to DAHUA Paper Company.

According to the EFCC, the money was transferred in three tranches of N200 million, N150 million and N165 million on July 17, 2024.

The bank alleged that the transactions were processed at its Okpara Avenue branch in Enugu using forged documents and authorised by Mr Nwaobi, who was the head of operations at the time.

“These transactions were processed from our Okpara Avenue, Enugu Branch, using forged documents and authorised by Obinna Nwaobi (Head of Operations)”, the petitioner alleged.

It explained that preliminary investigations revealed that the account in question was a Bank of Industry loan repayment account, which was not accessible to customers because it was meant for loan repayments.

“Withdrawals or transfers to third parties are not allowed on loan repayment accounts without the approval of the Account Officer, the Regional Manager and the Credit Monitoring Team,” it said.

The suspect is also facing trial before a Federal High Court in Enugu over the alleged diversion of $510,000 belonging to another customer of the same bank, Lantern Gate Nigeria Limited.

He was arraigned on November 13, 2025, on a nine-count charge bordering on forgery and the criminal diversion of the funds.

The EFCC said the $510,000 was allegedly transferred to six different accounts without the customer’s authorisation.

The commission said Mr Nwaobi would be charged to court over the N515 million allegation upon the conclusion of investigations.