NDIC Urges Depositors to Report Banks Indulging in Sharp Practices

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has urged depositors to report any sharp practice by commercial banks. It also called on Nigerians to shun dubious financial schemes and wonder banks which have continued to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

Speaking at the NDIC day at the ongoing 38th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Thursday, the Managing Director of the corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, urged customers to report any bank involved in sharp practices, saying the NDIC was out to protect the interest of depositors.

Ibrahim who was represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Alhaji Suleiman Birchi said the corporation had established a 24 hour help desk with a toll free telephone line.

“Depositors and stakeholders are therefore, advised to make effective use of the free telephone line in making their enquiries or laying genuine complaints to NDIC on sharp practices being perpetrated by their banks” he said.

He further warned against keeping large sums of money at home, in the market or shops and other unsafe outlets, pointing out that there are 978 licensed Micro finance banks nation wide with seven of them located in Kaduna state.

The NDIC boss expressed regret that despite repeated warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the corporation, Nigerians still patronised wonder banks and some questionable financial schemes, especially the phonzi scheme known as Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM).

Quoting the social media, Ibrahim said an estimated three million Nigerians lost N18 billion in MMM

He stressed that the creation, usage or trading in the Phonzi scheme in forms of virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Onecoin as currencies for medium of exchange are Internet-based transactions and are not authorised by the CBN due to the risks involved in their operations.