Nigerian fintech giant, Flutterwave denies money laundering charges as Kenyan Government freezes 56 accounts

Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech, has denied allegations of money laundering levelled against it by Kenyan authorities.

A Kenyan high court had earlier ordered freezing of the tech company’s accounts, and those of other companies over alleged money laundering.

However, in a statement on Thursday,  Flutterwave said the allegations are entirely false.

“Claims of financial improprieties involving the company in Kenya are entirely false, and we have the records to verify this,” Flutterwave said in a statement.

“We are a financial technology company that maintains the highest regulatory standards in our operations. Our Anti-money laundering (AML) practices and operations are regularly audited by one of the Big four firms. We remain proactive in our engagements with regulatory bodies to continue to stay compliant.”

The Kenyan high court on Wednesday froze 56 bank accounts belonging to Flutterwave and other businesses connected with Nigerian nationals over money laundering allegations.

The accounts involved are in dollars, pound sterling, euros, and Kenya shillings with a total holding of Sh7 billion suspected to be money laundering proceeds by foreign nationals.

The orders, to be effective for 90 days, were issued after the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) told the court that the accounts of the targeted companies were used as conduits for money laundering under the cover of providing merchant services.

ARA accused the company of receiving billions of shillings and depositing the same in different bank accounts in an attempt to conceal the nature, source, or movement of the funds.

But Flutterwave insists that the claim is false.

“We are working to ascertain the motive behind the false claims, and have the records straightened,” Flutterwave said.

Flutterwave noted that it only “collect and pay on behalf of merchants and corporate entities.”

The fintech company explained that “in the process, we earn our fees through a transaction charge, records of which are available and can be verified. As a business, we hold corporate funds to support our operations and provide services to all our customers.

“By facilitating payments for the biggest organizations in the world and everyday businesses, we process significantly large volumes of money and contribute to growing the economy in Kenya, and the rest of Africa.”

Flutterwave said it has a “responsibility to ensure the integrity of the ecosystem and we pledge our commitment to continue working with all stakeholders to uphold this.”