UBA faces N2.51trn litigation claims, penalties, loses N621.6m to fraudsters

THE United Bank for Africa (UBA), faced court claims from individuals and organisations totalling N2.511 trillion by the end of 2025, losing N621.57 million to fraudsters and forgers.

According to the bank’s full-year 2025 financial statement seen by Econoy Post, customers and other parties dragged the top bank to courts demanding N2.511 trillion, down from N1.325 trillion claims in the previous year.

However, like other lenders, UBA was not worried by the suits as the directors were convinced that there would be no significant liability from any of the 1,737 cases the bank was involved in.

“The Group, in the ordinary course of business is currently involved in 1,737 legal cases (2024:1,703),” UBA said.

“The total amount claimed in the cases against the Group is estimated at N2.511 trillion (2024: N1.325 trillion). The directors having sought the advice of professional legal counsel, are of the opinion that no significant liability will crystalise from these cases beyond the provision made in the financial statements.”

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CBN sanctions

The bank, which is a member of FUGAZ family (First Bank, UBA, GTB, Access and Zenith), was sanctioned 3 times by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for various infractions, including consumer complaint resolved by the apex bank’s Consumer Protection Department, cash disbursement, and delay in remitting regulatory payments to the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilization Facility. The bank paid a total penalty of N172 million in 2025.

Fraudsters came calling

The bank also had a hard time with fraudsters and forgers in 2025, losing a total of N621.57 million from various types of fraud. While UBA lost N192.65 million to electronic fraud, scammers stole N223.74 in fraudulent transfers, with the sum of N164.42 million lost to fraudulent diversion.

Similarly, fruadsters stole N22.84 million via forged cheques and N6.54 million through expense duplication. The bank equally lost N11.38 million via cash theft last year.

Insider related credit

UBA also lent money to its directors or firms related to them, according to the financial report. Heirs Holdings chaired by UBA’s Chairman, Mr Tony Elumelu, owed the bank N25.186 billion by the end of 2025, down from N42.033 billion by the end of 2024.

Similarly, Mr Emmanuel Nnorom’s Transcorp Hotels owed the bank N1.408 billion, up from N1.580 billion by December 2024. Also, Nnorom’s Transcorp Power Limited was indebted to the bank to the tune of N26.139 billion, up from N30.919 billion in 2024.

More so, Mr Elumelu’s Transnational Corporation Plc owed the bank N1.707 billion, down from N2.331 billion by the end of 2024. Again, Elumelu’s Transnational Corporation Plc was indebted to the bank to the tune of N9.489 billion, down from N9.648 billion in 2024, while United Capital Plc owed UBA the sum of N217.670 billion, down from N256.913 billion by December 2024.

Furthermore, Nnorom-chaired Transcorp Power owed the bank debts totalling N10.292 billion by December 2025, down from N10.835 billion by the end of 2024.

“Subsequent to year-end, the aggregate facilities have been paid down to a N88.55bn (deposit N19.97bn.),” the bank said, omitting the interest rate at which the loans were taken.

In 2023, Economy Post earlier reported that Mr Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings got loans totalling N41.823 billion from UBA at 15 percent interest rate. Findings from the bank’s half-year financial statement showed that as at December 2022, Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings owed UBA N13.442 billion. However, the firm’s debt to the bank rose to N41.823 billion by June 2023, showing that Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings borrowed N28.381 billion from UBA between January and June 2023.

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UBA profit decline

UBA reported a humongous 47% decline in pre-tax profit to N423 billion from N804 billion in 2024.

The decline in profit was fuelled by material loan provision of N331 billion and N278 billion net fair value loss on derivatives.

Interest income rose by 9.84 percent to N2.649 trillion, driven largely by income from investment securities, which contributed N1.47 trillion and accounted for about 56 percent of total interest income. UBA generated N889 billion from loans and advances to customers, representing 33 percent of total interest income.