The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed last night that it has “uncovered and aborted”what it described as “a highly sophisticated plot to defraudby some criminal minded elements.” “Although preliminary investigations so far have not revealed any accomplices within the CBN, Management has decided to place all key personnel involved in the transaction on suspension.

This is to ensure a full and unfettered investigation,” CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said in a statement issued in Abuja.

“This incident has been reported to relevant authorities. The CBN wishes to assure the general public that the security of the bank remains intact,” Mr. Okorafor said in the statement.

He gave no further details.

Investigations byNews Expressshowed that perpetrators of the fraud, acting from Nigeria and Dubai, cloned CBN’s e-mail address and initiated a transaction with the apex bank.

“The fraudsters had already succeeded in withdrawing about 190,000 US dollars before the transaction was discovered to be a fraud,” an impeccable source close to CBN toldNews Express.

The source disclosed that two people have already been arrested in Nigeria in connection with the fraud by the country’s secret police, the Department of State Service (DSS).

•Photo shows CBN Headquarters, Abuja.