CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There has been no single accepted definition of the term “fraud”.  Fraud in whatever form is limitless on classification, this is why courts and writers on fraud try to escape away from giving a decision definition, notwithstanding the varied meaning, attached to the concept of financial fraud the author addressed the subject with the following working definitions.

       Oxford and chambers dictionaries define fraud as a criminal deception, act of deceptive, trick, cheating swindling person or thing that deceives.

       Longman dictionary define fraud as ‘an act if deceitful behaviour for the purposes of gain which may be punishable by law.

       In the mind of civil court of justice, fraud may be said to cover “all act, omissions and concealment which involve a branch of legal or equitable duty trust or confidence justly reposed and injurious to another or by which an undue influence or available ie taken off.

       Bronifagbeni define banking fraud to mean an act or cause if deception deliberately practiced to gain unlawful or unfair advantages such deception directed to the detriments of another.  The goes further to define fraud to mean depriving a person dishonestly or something which is his  or of something to which he or would or mighty but for perpetration in the fraud be entailed.

       Having closely studies these approaches to definition to fraud especially from the banking perspective one may correctly see bank financial fraud as a deliberate act by an individual or group within or without the Nigeria banking system to cheat, swindle, deceives or manipulate in other to disposes the banking depressions/share holders of their funds.

Therefore fraud and forgone in banking transactions can be perpetrated through falsification of entire in accounts of customers with a view to take advantage of the excess proceed.

       Despite several definitions of frauds, the author believes that the ones so far given are rather appropriate advantages, and inspiring for the purpose in which the research work intends to achieve.  This is because they contain the basic elements of fraud which include that:

(a)       There must be decent or deception directed to the detriment of another or entirety

(b)      A false representation has been made knowingly or without belief in its truth or recklessly, carelessly, whether it is true or false.

(c)       Obtain damages for deceit, it must be proved that the defendant intended that the plantiff should act on it and suffered damages in consequences.

The position of banking system in our economy cannot be over emphasized.  They act as the conduct pipe through which all the financial transactions pass. However, fraud has proved a serious bottleneck to the proper functioning of the roles of banking system to the Nigeria economy people are befinning to get worries and sooners than later may loose confidence in our banking sector due to mainly the very increasing incidence of fraud in our today’s bank Banks as the store house of the public funds and properties should be on trust not fraud.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The frequent cases of financial fraud in many financial institutions in our country is now taken as the utmost concern to financial experts and micro economists.  This has also limited that task of seeking solution to eliminate its occurrences.  To some banking experts the issue of fraud in an internal vice in the Nigeria banking system. They argue on this because of good number of frauds occur among our banks without the knowledge of outsider even where the public is aware it does not effect the rate at which customers withdraw or deposit money.

       These experts are inclined to believe this because the nation is under-banked, the populace are at no option but to use the available banks like especially the foremost and well established banks like Zenith Bank Plc even if there are glaring inefficiencies in the operations incompetence and laziness among most banks staff give birth to fraud.

       Fraud has paralyzed the roof, the foundation and creditability of our banking system, just pick up any national daily or from police record and you will be alarmed at the extent and magnitude of bank fraud in Nigeria banking system.  Many banks have gone on distressed.  Therefore the researcher is arming at finding out if there is any significant effect or solution to financial fraud in the Nigeria banking system which has to offer to these deficiencies aforementioned with special references with Zenith Bank Plc station road, Enugu.

       In summary, the major problems of this study are as follows

(a)       The incessant/consistent casa of financial fraud

(b)      Weakness this has attributed to banking industry prior to the introduction of effective control of financial fraud

1.3     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This research work is generally set towards ascertaining the effects finical fraud have had on Nigeria banking industry since its inception in the Nigeria industry furthermore, the study is

1)         To determine if any lost of bills, the banking have in relationship with the financial fraud in banking and to what extend

2)         To examine the facts contained in the detection and control of financial fraud issued

3)         To research into the reason why people involve in financial fraud

4)         To diagnose the banking procedures with a view to fishing out loopholes and suggested way of plugging them.

5)         To examine the various management and government controlling devices geared towards alimentation or checking financial fraud in our banking system

6)         To recommend solutions that may help in checking financial fraud in our banking system.

1.4     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

To fulfill the above outline purpose, the research declares the following prepositions

Ho:  Hypothesis II most financial frauds have not succeeded because of the complexity of banking activities

H1:  Most financial frauds have succeeded because of the complexity of banking activities

Ho:  Hypothesis II auditing and investigations are indispensable weapons in the efficient management it banking industry

H2:  Auditing and investigations and indispensable of banking in the efficient management of the banking system.

H1:  Hypothesis I commercial banks do not place any value on the auditors reports.