Nigerian startup, Flutterwave Payment Technology has denied the N44 billion laundering allegation and alleged card fraud leveled against it by the Kenyan authority, Asset Recovery Agency (ARA).
The company led by Olugbenga Agboola, is said to be operating a payment service without Central Bank of Kenya license, which is against the payment system act in the country.
It was gathered that Flutterwave concealed the nature and source of billions of Kenyan shillings (Kenyan currency) entering its account, and also hid the movement of the funds, which are in USD, British Pound Sterling, EURO and Kenya shillings.
Kenyan authorities said they began to probe the accounts in April, and discovered the unicorn tech firm hid behind offering a merchant platform for trades, however, upon receiving the funds, merchants were not paid.
“If indeed the Flutterwave was providing merchant services, there was no evidence of retail transactions from customers paying for goods and services. Further, there is no evidence of settlements to the alleged merchants“, the authority said.
The firm was also connected to alleged card fraud, with Flutterwave said to have received 185 online card payments in May 2021, with all the cards sharing similar identification numbers, which were issued by the same bank in one day.
