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Good morning!
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Money laundering allegations have been flying all over the Nigerian tech ecosystem. Executives have been working overtime to get hold of the narrative, denying the allegations and announcing their innocence.
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First on Technext Roundup, a sitdown with the COO of KoraPay, the rising fintech whose account has been frozen in Kenya.
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Stick around on the Technext website for the full transcript.
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Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.
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Technext is pleased to announce its maiden regulation event - Government and Tech Summit (GAT) 2022. It will hold on Thursday, July 28, 2022.
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With a proposed physical audience of at least 1,500 and a virtual attendance of at least 3,000, the event is billed to be the biggest gathering of government policymakers, political influencers, tech industry players, and enthusiasts in Africa.
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Summary of the news
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- KoraPay’s COO, Gideon Orovwiroro has denied all money laundering allegations by the ARA
- Elon Musk has fired back at Twitter, saying that the company deceived him
- Flutterwave and other Nigerian fintech companies have discontinued their virtual dollar card services
- 2 Nigerian tech execs in the US have pleaded guilty in an over $160m money laundering case
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Behind the scene at KoraPay amid money laundering allegations
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In the wake of accusations by the Kenyan authorities of money laundering by rising Nigerian fintech, KoraPay, the company's Kenyan bank account with Equity Bank has been frozen.
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Technext sat down with KoraPay's COO, Gideon Orovwiroro for an exclusive raw interview on what happened. First on Technext Roundup, see an excerpt from the transcript below:
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Q: Is KoraPay guilty of money laundering in Kenya?
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GO: KoraPay respects the CDK. We acknowledge the CDK’s commitment to making sure that Kenya’s financial system is safe [and] secure for customers. Korapay shares that same view. We make sure our AML is stringent and our policies are strong and global standards. And we are committed to being an ethical company.
KoraPay is not a partner in any money laundering activity and has not committed any money laundering offences.
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Q: Why is the ARA accusing KoraPay of money laundering?
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GO: What I can speak to is the truth. Our story remains. There was a one-time deposit [of $250,000] into our account, for licences.
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Q: The ARA said it has been unable to establish where the money came from. Where did the money come from?
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GO: The funds came from KoraPay Technologies’ account. We have communication with the CDK for the application of licences, giving us a go-ahead to basically apply for the licence. All these are a result of the communication with the CDK.
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Q: The ARA called KoraPay a shell company. Is KoraPay a shell company?
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GO: Shell companies do not go to the licensing authorities to acquire not just one licence but two licences.
Shell companies are set up to mask the eventual owners. But in a business where you’ve already engaged with the authorities, you fulfil the criteria of the authorities, that gives you the idea that it’s definitely not a shell company.
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Elon Musk claps back at Twitter
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Were you thinking Elon Musk was going to go down without a fight? Think twice. After he announced to pull out of buying Twitter, the micro-blogging platform sued him. Now he is clapping back arguing that the company deceived him.
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Elon Musk accused Twitter on Friday of deceiving him about its service, obfuscating facts and not notifying him of executive changes, in his first formal response to the company’s lawsuit aimed at forcing him to complete a $44 billion acquisition of the social media service.
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Lawyers for Mr. Musk, who struck the blockbuster deal to buy Twitter in April but has since tried to terminate the purchase, made the arguments in a legal filing intended to oppose the company’s demand for a four-day trial in September in the case.
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Twitter is rushing to court after “a two-month treasure hunt of delays, technical bottlenecks, evasive answers and, ultimately, refusals,” Mr. Musk’s lawyers said in the filing. They added that Twitter was trying to “shroud the truth” over fake accounts on the service, an issue that Mr. Musk has made central to his desire to pull out of the deal.
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Flutterwave, Eversend, Busha, Plumpter and others discontinue virtual dollar card services
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A fleet of fintech companies including Flutterwave, Eversend and Busha sent emails to their customers last week announcing that they are pulling the brakes on their virtual dollar card services.
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Technext reports that the emails say the shut down of the service is due to an update from our card partner, which will cause the card service to be unavailable for an extended period of time.
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The companies didn't say who this partner is, but most of the cards are being provided by MasterCard. The cancellation from Flutterwave and these companies will affect the Nigerian tech ecosystem tremendously.
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Douglas Kenydson, the CEO of Selar which uses the Flutterwave card said that the cancellation will be very detrimental to his company.
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It affects us in a big way because all our Facebook ads are connected to our Barter virtual card. Our Amazon web services (AWS) plan is also connected, and you can’t even afford to miss one payment, or else they’ll take you off.
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2 Nigerians sentenced in the US over $160m money laundering case
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Two Nigerians, Anslem Oshionebo and Opeyemi Odeyale have been sentenced to 27 months in prison in the United States for money laundering after their business facilitated the shipping of $160 million to Nigeria over about three years.
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They pleaded guilty to the allegations last week.
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Technext reports that Anslem Oshionebo, 45, and Opeyemi Odeyale, 43, received 27-month prison sentences for failing to maintain effective anti-money laundering controls and unlicensed money transmitting, according to legal filings by the United States Department of Justice.
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The DoJ said that the Dallas-based company the Nigerians own and operate, Ping Express US LLC, will face five years of probation and a fine of up to $500,000.
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Another executive received a 42-month sentence.
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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