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The Federal Government of Nigeria through its treasury circular ref. No TRY/A8 & B8 of 22nd October, 2008 directed that payments from all funds of the Federal Government of Nigeria be made electronically as from 1st January, 2009 in order to eliminate the un-acceptable delay in the payment of government contractors who have been certified to have either partly or totally completed contracts awarded to them and are due for payment; minimize interaction between contractors and government officials who have roles to play in the payment of contractors; check corruption because transaction of government can easily be traced from one source to another, introduce and institutionalize financial probity in the activities of government. .
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English defines fraud as "a criminal deception". Olufidipe (2004) defined fraud as "Deceit or trickery deliberately practiced in other to gain some advantage dishonesty.''.
Fraud means an act of dishonesty, deceit and imposture (Alashi, 2004).
According to Kirkpatrick (2005), "a person who pretends to be something that he is not is a fraud, a snare, a deceptive, trick, cheat and a swindler.
By extension fraud will include embezzlement, theft or any attempt to steal or unlawful obtain, misuse or harm the assets of the organization .
Otusanya (2012) fraud is concerned with the activities of those who seek to divert to their pockets the fruits of others' handwork. In general, fraud could be said to mean any activity that amounts to unfair dealing. In legal parlance, fraud has been defined as the act of depriving a person dishonestly of something which is or of something to which he is or would or might be entitled but for the perpetration of fraud. Therefore, bank fraud includes theft, embezzlement or any attempt to steal or misuse or harm the assets of a bank or a customer.
Olufidipe (2004) defined fraud as "Deceit or trickery deliberately practiced in other to gain some advantage dishonesty.