56 bank accounts belonging to Flutterwave Payment Technology Limited and other companies associated with Nigerian nationals have been frozen by a Kenyan High Court due to allegations of money laundering, according to Business Daily Africa.
Following a suspicion that the funds are the products of money laundering and credit card fraud, the court issued the freezing order.
Boxtrip Travel And Tours Limited, Bagtrip Travel Limited, Elivalat Fintech Limited, Adguru Technology Limited, Hupesi Solutions, Cruz Ride Auto Limited, and one Simon Karanja Ngige are among the other businesses reportedly impacted.
The accounts in question hold money in dollars, pound sterling, euros, and Kenya shillings, with a total holding of Sh7 billion that is thought to be the result of foreign nationals laundering money.
The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) informed the court that the accounts of the targeted businesses were being used as money laundering conduits while posing as merchant services, leading to the issuance of the orders, which will be in effect for 90 days.
According to the court documents, Olugbenga Agboola and David Mouko (a Kenyan) served as directors when Flutterwave was registered on February 23, 2017.
According to a report, the company had six bank accounts with Ecobank, 17 with Equity Bank, and 29 with Guaranty Trust Bank.
According to ARA, the company’s account received billions of shillings and transferred those funds to various bank accounts in an effort to hide the type, source, or flow of the money.
According to reports, the organization stated, “Investigations established that the bank accounts operations had suspicious activities where funds could have been received from specific foreign entities which raised suspicion.
Instead of paying out to merchants, the money was then moved to related accounts.
Isaac Nakitare, an agency investigator, claimed in an affidavit that on April 4, the team received orders to search and examine the company’s accounts in order to establish a money laundering case.
He revealed that at the time he received the orders, Flutterwave’s accounts at Guaranty Trust Bank had a balance of Sh5.3 billion and one held at Equity Bank had a balance of Sh1.4 billion.
By offering a payment service platform without the authorization from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), as required by the payment system act, Flutterwave, according to the Agency, was hiding the nature of its business.
There was no proof of retail transactions involving customers paying for goods and services, even if the Flutterwave was indeed offering merchant services.
Additionally, there is no proof that payments have been made to the alleged merchants, the investigator said.
In a statement on Thursday, Flutterwave responded by calling the accusations “entirely false” and asserting that it has the documentation required to demonstrate its innocence.
“Flutterwave has a responsibility to ensure the integrity of the ecosystem, and we pledge our commitment to continue to work with all stakeholders to uphold this.
“We are working to figure out the motive behind the publication and have the records straightened.”
