Money Laundering: High Court Freezes Flutterwave’s Bank Accounts

56 bank accounts belonging to Flutterwave Payment Technology Limited and other companies associated with Nigerian citizens have been frozen by a Kenyan High Court due to allegations of money laundering.

NGNEWS247 gathered from sources that Boxtrip Travel And Tours Limited, Bagtrip Travel Limited, Elivalat Fintech Limited, Adguru Technology Limited, Hupesi Solutions, and Cruz Ride Auto Limited are among the other businesses impacted.

The accounts in question have 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 persons laundering money.

The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) informed the court that the accounts of the targeted businesses were used as conduits for money laundering while pretending to offer merchant services, leading to the issuance of the orders, which will be in place for 90 days.

Olugbenga Agboola and David Mouko, a Kenyan, served as directors when Flutterwave was formed on February 23, 2017, per court filings.

According to a study, the corporation held six bank accounts with Ecobank, 17 with Equity Bank, and 29 with Guaranty Trust Bank.

In an effort to hide the type, source, or movement of the monies, the company’s account allegedly received billions of shillings and deposited the same in various bank accounts.

Investigations revealed that the bank account operations involved dubious transactions in which money could have come from particular foreign organisations, raising suspicion. Instead of paying out to businesses, the money was then transferred to associated accounts, according to the agency.

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 create 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 statute, Flutterwave, according to the Agency, was hiding the nature of its company.

There was no proof of retail transactions involving people paying for goods and services, even if the Flutterwave was truly offering merchant services. Additionally, there is no proof that payments have been made to the accused merchants, the investigator said.

According to NGNEWS247 reports gathered from The Star, the company’s equity account number showed that it received 185 online card payments in May 2021 at some point, all of which shared the same bank identification number and were carried out using cards issued by the same bank at the same time on the same day, raising suspicions of card fraud.

According to the report, between 2020 and 2022, the account received about Sh12 billion. Some of the money was transferred to Remix Limited, and the remainder was invested in a fixed deposit account.

An earlier investigation report described the shady history of the major African fintech company’s participation in securities fraud and identity theft. Insider trading, arbitrary up- and down-ticks in stock prices, and several other immoral actions.

While Enyioma Olufemi is the director of Boxtrip, Bagtrip’s director is another Nigerian named Taiwo Soyemi.

The court froze its account holding of Sh425 million for Bagtrip excursions.

Aduru Technology’s share ownership, worth Sh100,000,000, was frozen. Adaeze Okonkwo and Caroline Muchina, the wife of David Muoko, a director of Flutterwave, are identified as the company’s directors.

The case is going to be continued on November 7.