Grace Ashiru
Kenyan Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) has dropped money laundering charges against Flutterwave, an African fintech unicorn. This means that KSh6.6 billion (about $51 million) frozen in the company’s account seven months ago can now be released.
CEO Olugbenga Agboola had been trying to access the funds and meet with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which said that Flutterwave was an unlicensed fintech company in Kenya.
The CEO of Flutterwave said that CBK had asked the company to reapply for a license to be a money remittance and payments service provider, and the process of getting the license is now happening.
The unfreezing of funds is meant to show partners and stakeholders across Africa that Flutterwave follows all rules and laws in Kenya and everywhere else it does business.
Flutterwave says it has made several changes to ensure that its internal governance structures are best-in-class. These changes include strengthening its risk and governance and hiring a VP and Head of Risk for Africa.
In the areas of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, data privacy, information security, and finance, all company policies are reviewed by third-party audit firms once a year.
