Fidelity Bank Denies Data Breach Allegations, Disputes N555.8 Million Fine Imposed by NDPC
Fidelity Bank has refuted allegations of a data breach and challenged the N555.8 million fine imposed by the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Meksley Nwagboh, the bank’s divisional head of brand and communications, stated that Fidelity Bank has consistently adhered to the highest ethical standards and complied with data protection laws.
The NDPC announced the fine on Wednesday, citing alleged violations of data privacy laws. According to Vincent Olatunji, the national commissioner of the NDPC, the bank’s “arrogance ultimately led us to impose the full penalty.”
In response, Fidelity Bank clarified that the alleged data breach had been thoroughly investigated. The bank explained that an online account opening request had been received, but the account was never operational due to incomplete documentation. Fidelity Bank emphasized that it had taken due diligence by immediately blocking and subsequently closing the account when the required documents were not provided.
The bank detailed that it first became aware of the complaint on April 30, 2023, when it received a notice of investigation from the NDPC. The investigation centered on a complaint from an individual who claimed that their personal details were used to open an account at the bank without their consent.
Fidelity Bank conducted an internal investigation and found that the account opening request was received online. The bank sent an email to the address provided with the request, informing the applicant of the need to complete the process by submitting additional documents. In line with the bank’s data protection policy, accounts created online without full documentation are not operational and are closed after 30 days if the required documents are not submitted.
The bank stated that the account was placed on a ‘Post No Debit’ status, preventing any transactions until the verification process was completed. As the necessary documents were not provided, the account was eventually closed. Fidelity Bank asserted that at no point was the account operational.
On May 2, 2023, the bank responded to the NDPC, denying any legal violation and clarifying that there was no data breach. Despite this, the NDPC informed the bank during a Pre-Action meeting on July 7, 2023, that a penalty would be imposed.
The situation escalated on December 5, 2023, when the bank received a letter from the NDPC demanding a payment of N250 million within 21 days. While Fidelity Bank continued to engage with the commission, it received another letter on August 20, 2024, increasing the demanded amount to N555.8 million.
Source: The Cable
