The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned a 47-year-old man, Ugochukwu Eze, popularly known as “Amazon”, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged cyber-attacks that reportedly led to the diversion of more than N800 million belonging to SunTrust Bank Plc.
Eze was brought before Justice Friday Ogazi on charges bordering on cybercrime, unlawful access to critical financial infrastructure, conspiracy and alleged money laundering offences. The DSS accused him of hacking into the bank’s computer system, and fraudulently diverting funds into several accounts between 2023 and 2026.
According to the prosecution Counsel, M. Bajela, the Defendant and others currently at large, allegedly conspired to unlawfully interfere with the operations of SunTrust Bank’s server, thereby disrupting the Bank’s computer system and facilitating the diversion of over N800 million. The Defendant was also accused of concealing and transferring funds, allegedly linked to cyber-attacks on financial institutions.
The prosecution told the court that the alleged offences contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024, as well as sections of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Eze was specifically accused of causing unauthorised access to critical national financial information infrastructure.
