Union Bank plundered: Former directors gamble away billions, threaten collapse

Former directors and owners of Union Bank are accused of engineering a financial catastrophe, manipulating reports, concealing massive losses, diverting foreign loans, and treating depositors’ funds as their personal property, nearly bringing one of Nigeria’s major banks to the brink of collapse.

Investigators uncovered billions of dollars in misconduct. These directors buried over ₦250bn in losses, piled a $300m foreign loan onto the bank without protection and then forced Union Bank to carry the burden. They even used the bank’s own funds to buy its shares, an outrageous betrayal of trust.

It didn’t stop there. Over $100m was pulled out improperly, leaving the bank exposed and struggling. Loans meant for customers were secretly diverted into shady transactions. False reports were sent to lenders. The system was deliberately deceived.

This was not incompetence. It was exploitation.

By 2025, their actions had created nearly ₦400bn in losses and over ₦147bn in unpaid charges. The bank was on the edge.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped in just in time. Without that intervention, Union Bank could have collapsed, dragging others down with it.

Now, the bank is stabilising. But let’s be clear: this recovery is happening despite those former directors, not because of them.