The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Osaretin Osagiede before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over an alleged N700 million fraud involving Best Start Micro Finance Bank.
Osagiede was arraigned on Friday, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi on a three-count charge bordering on unauthorised access to computer material and receiving stolen property.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Osagiede, alongside Zacharia Lorshe, who is currently at large, compromised the two-factor authentication (2FA) security mechanism of Ravenpay user accounts to gain unauthorised access to banking data.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences were committed between March 2025 and January 2026 in Lagos.
One of the counts alleged that Osagiede and Lorshe ‘intentionally caused the Ravenpay user accounts’ two-factor authentication (2FA) method to be bypassed’ with the intention of gaining unauthorised access to the bank’s data.
The commission said the alleged offence contravened Section 387 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
In another count, the EFCC accused the defendant and Lorshe of dishonestly receiving N700 million belonging to Best Start Micro Finance Bank, despite allegedly having reason to believe that the funds were stolen property.
The alleged offence, according to the commission, contravened Sections 411 and 328(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
Osagiede pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, asked the court to fix a date for trial and urged the judge to remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application.
Ogunjobi subsequently ordered that Osagiede be remanded in a correctional facility.
The judge adjourned the matter until September 16, 2026, for hearing of the defendant’s bail application.
The case adds to the growing number of financial crime prosecutions involving alleged exploitation of digital banking platforms and unauthorised access to financial systems.
The EFCC, in a statement issued by Dele Oyewale, its Head of Media and Publicity, said the defendant would remain in custody pending the determination of his bail application.