A hotel employee has admitted to orchestrating a long-running fraud scheme that allegedly diverted millions of naira from a major hospitality establishment, revealing how staff members allegedly pocketed payments made by guests and shared the proceeds among themselves.
The confession, made during an internal interrogation, details a scheme that reportedly operated for five years and involved collecting payments from guests outside the hotel’s official payment channels.
According to the employee, guest payments were frequently transferred directly into his personal bank account rather than the hotel’s accounts, with the proceeds subsequently distributed among participating staff members.
The culprit identified as okonta Friday said “for the past five years, I’ve been stealing from one of the biggest hotels. I’ve been selling rooms. I’ve been the major one involved in collecting money from guests. They’ve been transferring it to my account and I’ve been the one giving the remaining people money,” he said.
The employee further admitted that the operation was not carried out alone.
“And I’ve been the one eventually doing it for the past five years. When we get the money, I and Mr. Wale take the lion’s share. And if Mr. Sheehan is around, we also take part of the lion’s share. Then we share the remaining ones to the remaining people.” He noted.
Alleged Network of Staff Involvement
In the recorded confession, the worker claimed the practice was widely known among employees within the department.
“So basically, everybody knows about it. Everybody in housekeeping knows about it,” he said.
The allegation, if established, suggests the fraud may have involved multiple staff members and raises questions about internal controls and oversight within the hotel’s operations.
Investigators are expected to determine the extent of involvement by other employees named in the confession and whether the scheme extended beyond a single department.
The employee also admitted to personally benefiting from the proceeds of the alleged fraud.
When asked whether he had built a house using money generated from the scheme, he responded: “Yes, I have built a house from it.”
The admission is likely to intensify scrutiny of assets acquired during the period under investigation and could form part of efforts to trace funds allegedly diverted from the hotel.
N17.8 Million Passed Through Personal Account
The most striking revelation came when the employee disclosed the amount of money that allegedly passed through his personal account over a one-year period.
“Today is 2nd of June. We have finished the accounts of May. In a year, from May last year to May this year, N17.8 million has passed through my account,” he admitted.
The figure provides a glimpse into the scale of the alleged operation and suggests that total losses over the five-year period could be substantially higher if similar transaction volumes were maintained throughout the duration of the scheme.
This admission has highlighted the vulnerability of hospitality businesses to insider threats and the importance of strong financial controls, payment verification systems and internal audits within the hospitality industry.
