According to reports, the CEO and co-founder of Nigerian fintech company Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, recently visited Kenya where he sought to persuade the country’s monetary authorities to grant the company access to funds that have been blocked since July 2022. Agboola claimed that the company “has made a number of changes during the year.” past to ensure that all internal governance structures are best in class.
Money laundering allegations
More than six months after the Kenyan High Court ordered the bank accounts of Nigerian fintech unicorn Flutterwave to be frozen, Olugbenga Agboola, co-founder and CEO of the start-up, is seeking to persuade Kenya’s central bank to end the ban. . In addition, Agbola reportedly used his recent trip to the East African country to lobby for his company’s licensing.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, more than 50 Flutterwave bank accounts with funds equivalent to nearly $60 million have been frozen at the request of the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA). The agency has accused Flutterwave of money laundering and violating Kenya’s national payment system laws.
However, according to a Business Daily report, ARA withdrew from the court case that won the freeze order in December 2022. The report added that ARA’s withdrawal, as well as the recent dismissal of the case against Flutterwave by about 2,000 disaffected Nigerians, have increased the startup’s chances of regaining access to blocked funds. .
Meanwhile, in his remarks regarding the Kenyan trip, Agbola was reported to have said:
The Central Bank of Kuwait invited us in December to re-apply for money transfer and payment service provider licenses. Kenya is the cornerstone of mobile money transfer. We’ve seen the gap and we’ve raised capital to invest here. Without Nairobi, a global mobile money payments system cannot be built.
Regarding allegations that Flutterwave’s operations in Kenya were not sanctioned, Agboola insisted that the startup had always endeavored to comply with the country’s laws. He revealed that the startup has been attracting qualified global experts to help boost Flutterwave’s operations.
Fintech growth and regulatory challenges
In another report, Agbola is quoted as suggesting that the exponential growth of Flutterwave and other African-based fintech companies often worries regulators. This, in turn, leads to increased scrutiny and suspicion.
However, to allay the concerns of skeptical regulators, Agboola reportedly said that the fintech has “introduced a number of changes over the past year to ensure that all internal governance structures are best-in-class.” Furthermore, Flutterwave has hired experienced individuals like Mastercard’s Emmanuel Efenure to help strengthen fintech risk and governance, Agboola added.
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