CBN officially withdraws cybersecurity levy
Nigeria’s central bank has withdrawn a controversial 0.5% cybersecurity levy on electronic transfers three days before it was supposed to take effect. The Cybersecurity Act was amended in 2024 and the scope of the levy was extended to cover fintechs, payment service providers and other financial institutions and introduced a 900% increase from 0.005%. “Please be advised that the above referenced circular is hereby withdrawn,” the circular signed by Chibuzo Efobi, the director of the central bank’s payment system management team, and Haruna Mustafa, the director of financial policy and regulation, read. The cybersecurity levy was seen as “regressive” by financial industry experts due to the sharp increase in the cost of an electronic transaction amidst the country’s highest inflation rate in thirty years and a cost of living crisis. Following mounting pressure from labour unions, the federal government suspended the levy and said it would be reviewed on Tuesday. The now-revoked cybersecurity levy meant an electronic transfer of ₦1,000 would attract a ₦5 fee, while a ₦100,000 transfer would attract a ₦500 fee. “Since I heard of the levy, I have only transferred money to bank accounts in my bank,” *Ope, an online phone seller who deals with a lot of money daily, told TechCabal. The levy would have been charged in addition to a stamp duty charge, an SMS charge, and a charge from the national payment switch. A ₦10,000 electronic transaction fee would have cost ₦130.875. But loopholes existed, like an exception with money transfers within the same bank, salary payments, school fees payments, and loan repayments. Its removal would be welcomed by Nigerians like Ope who have come to increasingly rely on electronic transfers as a primary means of payment. Paystack, a Nigerian fintech giant, revealed last week that bank transfers accounted for over half of the transactions it processed in 2023. In that same year, the value of electronic transactions in Nigeria rose by 66% to over ₦600 trillion. *This is a developing story
Read MoreKenya’s Copia mulls shutdown amid plans to lay off over 1,000 staff
Copia Global, a Kenyan B2C e-commerce startup that has raised $123 million in venture funding across seven rounds, is considering laying off employees or shutting down, citing “uncertainties.” The layoffs, which could affect over 1,000 employees, would be a drastic cost-cutting measure for a company that announced an extension of its Series C round in December 2023. ”It is important to highlight that uncertainties lie ahead. As a result, it is very likely that there will be a reduction in our workforce and it is possible that the payment of salaries could be at risk,” said Tim Steel, Copia’s CEO, in an internal memo seen by TechCabal. Steel added that laying off employees would be the first course of action to rein in costs. Should that fail, the company could shut down, joining other Kenyan e-commerce startups that have closed shop since the COVID-19 pandemic, like Wefarm, an agritech startup connecting farmers to farm input distributors, and Zumi, a B2B connecting retailers to suppliers. While the startups have blamed funding drought and tough market conditions for their woes, experts suggest that the viability of the business models, absence of industry data to inform expansion, poor infrastructure, and customer trust deficit could be among the factors causing the closures. “The company is required, in compliance with the law, to give all staff one (1) month notice of potential redundancies and to undertake a one (1) month consultancy period with all potentially impacted staff. Therefore, all staff are receiving this notice. A notice will also be given to the Labour Officer as required by law,” Steel said. Copia is one of Kenya’s most well-funded startups. It announced a $50 million Series C funding round in 2022 and a $20 million extension of the same round in December 2023. Despite Copia claiming that it had “cracked the nut of last-mile delivery” and built a fulfilment system for customers in remote parts of the country, signs of strain became obvious in 2023 when it laid off over 700 employees and closed Uganda operations barely two years into the market. With an economic downturn and tight capital markets, Copia embraced a strategy of optimising operations to maximise its existing resources. This included a 25% workforce reduction that affected 350 employees. In July 2024, Copia told TechCabal that it planned to remain profitable and better serve customers through streamlined processes and cost reduction. It suspended plans to expand to other African markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Mozambique, citing the need “to accelerate Copia’s drive to profitability. Copia was founded by Tracy Turner and Jonathan Lewis in 2013 to allow customers in remote areas to order goods through its platform and delivered to them through its network of agents.
Read MoreEmpty wallets, empty bellies: Food inflation grips Nigerians
For Olamilekan Kafaru, a bus driver in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, Nigeria, eating three square meals daily is almost impossible. At a dizzying 40.53% increase, food inflation in the country is the highest in nearly three decades, placing more pressure on ordinary citizens who already spend a larger portion of their income on food. With food prices skyrocketing every month, millions of Nigerians face a brutal reality: food has become a luxury. President Bola Tinubu campaigned on a promise to “deliver food security and affordability.” After nearly a year in office, he has yet to deliver on this promise. The price of rice—Nigeria’s most consumed food—rose to ₦1,340 per kilogram in March, compared with ₦540 in the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. A loaf of sliced bread sold for ₦1,109, compared to ₦561 last year. “These days, you give thanks to God if you can afford two meals a day,” says Kafaru, a father of four who has been struggling to feed his family as inflation erodes his income. Concerns about food insecurity have been expressed for some time now in Africa’s most populous country, which has also been battling poverty and widespread insecurity for several years. Conflicts in certain regions of the country have disrupted agricultural activities and displaced farmers, hindering food production and distribution. Gunmen have kidnapped hundreds of people in Northern Nigeria. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations projects more than 26 million people at risk of food insecurity this year. This situation has forced Nigerians into desperation. At least seven people died in February during a stampede at the Lagos regional headquarters of Nigeria’s customs service where it sold off bags of confiscated rice at discounted prices. There were also reported attacks on warehouses across the country. “People are hungry and angry. A meal of bread and beans that used to cost ₦500 now costs at least ₦700 or ₦1000,” says Aminat Balogun, a fashion designer in the Ogijo area of Ogun State. Driven by food prices, Nigeria’s headline inflation hit a staggering 33.69% in April, despite the country’s central bank’s interest rate hikes in February and March. The apex bank is expected to raise the lending rate again at its next monetary policy committee meeting on May 20. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Olayemi Cardoso, told the Financial Times this week that the apex bank will “do whatever is necessary” to tackle inflation. Lagos-based market-focused consulting firm SBM Intelligence argued that “the structural nature of the country’s inflation drivers” affects the effectiveness of the CBN’s efforts. “The cost of living crisis will kill us all if care is not taken,” said Abibat Olayemi, who runs a grocery store in the Surulere area of Lagos. Her sales have dropped by 50% in the past few months as customers spend less due to rising prices. For Sosanwo who runs a block business, relief is desperately needed. “I don’t even know how an ordinary man is surviving. Right now, rice is ₦75,000 to ₦76,000 per bag. Imagine asking an ordinary man when he last cooked rice in his house.” he told TechCabal. Experts have long argued that Nigeria should focus on achieving food security rather than obsess over food self-sufficiency. In recent years, the Nigerian government has banned importing certain food items and closed borders to increase local production and export. These decisions have only served to increase food insecurity. Nigeria does not produce enough to feed its population, and millions of citizens lack access to nutritious food. “Temporarily suspending import restrictions on key food items can help stabilise prices and ensure access to affordable food for consumers,” said Basil Abia, founder of Verviv Africa, a data insights company. “Incentivising state governments to invest in agricultural competitiveness through revenue-sharing programmes can also enhance food security at the local level.” Since taking office in May 2023, President Tinubu has introduced a raft of economic reforms, removing $10 billion-a-year fuel subsidies and adopting a uniform exchange rate. Though praised by international investors, both moves have triggered a cost of living crisis for ordinary Nigerians. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Nigeria will lose its place as Africa’s third-largest economy to Algeria in 2024. Tinubu, who declared a state of emergency last July to tackle rising food prices and shortages and opened up food reserves, insisted that Nigeria is on course to attain food security. “Nigeria will be self-sufficient in food production during my administration,” he said last week. But poor Nigerians will need more than assurances. “You can’t claim to have the interest of the people at heart when you are spending billions on buying cars and renovating offices,” a visibly angry John Obinna, a Lagos-based banker told TechCabal. “If this government is serious about addressing food inflation, it must show workings.”
Read MoreSpiro secures $50m debt funding from Afreximbank to expand electric vehicles in Africa
Spiro, an India-based electric vehicle company, has signed a $50 million debt financing deal with Afreximbank to expand its offering in its existing markets. The company operates in six countries: Benin, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ghana, and plans to expand to Cameroon, and Morocco this year. The company has spent the past two years mapping African cities and identifying potential markets. It claims to be the largest operator of electric motorbikes in Africa and has mostly focused on two-wheelers. It has 11,000 motorbikes and 300 battery-swapping stations in Benin and Togo where it first launched. It has deployed 800 motorbikes in Kenya since its September 2023 launch in September 2023 and 300 motorbikes in Rwanda. It plans to launch 1000 motorbikes in Uganda before the end of 2024. “We want to do 1 million units of 2-wheelers in five years,” said Kaushik Burman, CEO in Kigali where the African CEO Forum was held. Burman believes a sustainable electric vehicle environment integrates all the different facets of the industry. Hence, beyond building fast battery recharge and swapping stations, the company is investing money in Internet-of-Things technology, maps, and a ride-hailing application. “It is like Uber but it doesn’t need bikes. But we are making bikes and we are going to be like Uber with a ride-hailing app,” Burman said. In addition, the app will integrate a payment feature and be accessible to both drivers and riders. The technology features will also enable the company to trace the motorbikes and the batteries, and track usage. Behind the multilayered ride-hailing platform and technology features is a team of 50 engineers working out of the company’s innovation centre in Pune, India. Investors have funded BasiGo, Roam, Max, and Spiro, to offer electric vehicles on the continent. With an estimated market size of$15.80 billion in 2024, it is expected to reach $25.40 billion by 2029, data from Mordor Intelligence shows.
Read MoreAfrican CEOs in Kigali push for home-grown solutions to future of digital economy
At least 2000 Africa’s chief executive officers, five heads of state, investors, and media are in Kigali from Thursday to Friday for the African CEO Forum 2024 to find digital-based solutions to the continent’s problems. In terms of attendance and participation, this year’s Africa CEO Forum is the largest since the program began in 2012, said Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group. Jeune Afrique Media Group collaborated with the International Financial Corporation (IFC). High unemployment, insecurity, low internet connectivity, foreign exchange crisis, and cross-border payment frictions have affected the growth of Africa and business leaders blame this on countries within the continent not listening to each other and embracing cutting-edge technology. There is a need for public and private sectors to come together to create home-grown services by removing barriers like border controls that restrict talents from moving freely and harmonising policies across governments, four of the CEOs said on the Day 1 of the conference. “A solid governance system and strong support for private sector investments have made Rwanda a role model for leadership and strategic investments. This is a remarkable performance and the essence of the ACF2024,” said Yahmed. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame does not believe that having solutions is enough for the countries in the continent. The willingness to execute is even more important and many leaders on the continent lack this. “Anything that can be done in any part of the world can be done in Africa. Why can’t we start doing it already?” Kagame said. The growing population of the continent is an opportunity for the global economy that African countries can use to their advantage. Today, almost 20% of the world’s population is from Africa and 25% will come from the continent by 2050, according to data cited by Kagame. Unfortunately, only a few countries are harnessing these potentials and utilizing them to transform their economy. While the continent’s problems will not be solved by merely adapting solutions made for developed markets there are learnings Africa needs to keep in mind. There are five forces changing the world today according to Tawfik Hammond, chief client officer, Boston Consulting Group. These include geopolitics, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), green revolution, global debt, and generation alpha (GenAlpha). “Born after 2010, GenAlpha will account for 50% of all Africans in five years forming a significant labour pool for the continent,” Hammond said. Morocco is one of the few countries identified by the BCG that is investing in technology education to tap the creative ability of its young people. The country’s universities are some of the best on the continent in teaching artificial intelligence. African countries should also look beyond being invited to the table by the biggest economies in the world and think about setting their tables, and their topics, and inviting the rest of the world to be part of it. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman of Access Holdings said the rest of the world will continue to undermine the continent for as long as the leaders only look forward to being invited. “I think we should look at us having our tables. Considering our young population, we can set a table for that. The youth table for the future of the world is Africa,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.
Read MoreST Digital to build additional data centres in 3 francophone countries
ST Digital, a Cameroun-based cloud services and infrastructure provider that recently raised €10 million from UHURU Investment Partners, will build three data centres in countries within the Francophone region. It will bring the number of tier III data centres in the company’s portfolio to four. The three additional data centres will be built in Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo, Anthony Same, group director general of ST Digital told TechCabal in Kigali, on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum. The three countries are part of the seven countries in which ST Digital already provides cloud services. The data centres in Gabon and Cote d’Ivoire will be finished in 2024 while Togo will be completed in 2025. The company is speaking to submarine cable operators to provide interconnectivity for the four data centres. It also plans to partner with as many operators as possible to increase the quality of the interconnectivity and also to prevent any downtime, especially from submarine cable cuts. “To provide local internet access, we are building ISPs in each of our data centres. You won’t suffer submarine cable cuts if you host in our data center,” Same said. Digital adoption in the Francophone picked up significantly from 2020 following the COVID-19 lockdown which sent many business around the world to embrace digitalisation. Aside from businesses jumping on the digital bandwagon, many companies have been created online since then. Over 300 digital financial services were launched between 2020 and 2023, according to one report. However, the quality of digital services has been affected by low digital infrastructure such as data centres. As of 2023, the entire data centres in Africa were slightly above 100 with 61 data centres located in South Africa. Same said his company decided to build a data centre in 2021, because of demand from private sector operators and public agencies that wanted to host their data locally. CAMTEL and Orange are some of the data centre operators in the country, but Same said ST Digital established itself through a “100% Africa cloud” campaign which sought to onboard businesses in Cameroon onto the cloud in an affordable way. Now it counts local banks, government and big companies in the country as clients. Moreover, ST Digital’s ambition is to build an ecosystem in the Francophone region where company do not just host their data, but also have access to internet and cloud infrastructure that powers their entire business operations. Same said the company it is on the final round of closing an investment to power the expansion.
Read MoreNaspers appoints Fabricio Bloisi as CEO
Naspers, Africa’s largest company by market capitalisation worth R717 billion ($39 billion), has appointed Fabricio Bloisi as CEO. This follows the abrupt resignation of Bob van Dijk in September 2023. Like van Dijk, Bloisi will also serve as the CEO of Prosus, a subsidiary of Naspers whose portfolio companies include Udemy, Stack Overflow, Tencent, SimilarWeb and SkillsSoft. Bloisi, who will assume the role from 1 July, will be replacing Edwin Wu who was appointed as interim CEO following van Dijk’s departure. He is currently the CEO of iFood, a food delivery company and Naspers portfolio company based in Brazil. Bloisi takes over a company currently experiencing a bloated structure caused by a large discount between its share price and net asset value (NAV). While Naspers shares trade at R4,074 per share, the company’s NAV is R6,622 per share — boosted by its stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent held via Prosust. Over the last two years, the company has embarked on a share repurchase program to reduce the discount. “Fabricio is an entrepreneur with a proven track record. His appointment as CEO places innovation and entrepreneurship at the heart of [Naspers],” board chair Koos Bekker told shareholders this morning. According to his LinkedIn profile, before joining iFood in 2015 as chairman of the board and eventually CEO, Bloisi was president of Fundação 1Bi, a foundation “promoting technology projects with social impact.” He also served as founder and CEO of Movile, a mobile services company which would eventually become a lead shareholder in iFood with Prosus. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Universidade Estadual de Campinas, an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas and executive program certifications from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School.
Read More👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria to set up shop in Silicon Valley
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF If you haven’t already, please take a couple of minutes out of your Friday morning to tell us how you feel about podcasts. We’re working on a podcast, and we’d like to get it right. So please fill out our survey here and show us the path to take. Thank you! In today’s edition Flutterwave loses ₦11 billion in security breach Inside Layi’s business of laughter Jack Dorsey’s TBD teams up with Chipper Cash Nigeria to open up shop in Silicon Valley Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Cybercrime Flutterwave loses ₦11 billion in security breach In February, Flutterwave got a court order to recover $24 million, which it lost in a breach last October. Flutterwave said the October incident happened when it noticed unauthorised transactions by POS device merchants, which resulted in funds being automatically transferred to the bank accounts of customers. One month after obtaining the order to recover the lost funds, the fintech was breached again. A billion-naira breach: While the amount lost in its latest breach was not disclosed, insiders estimate the figures to be between ₦11 billion ($7 million) and ₦20 billion ($13.5 million). Flutterwave said it “detected unauthorised activities inconsistent with usual customer behaviour on one of our platforms used by a small subset of our customer base.” The stolen funds were transferred to multiple accounts across five financial institutions in a four-day period, per one insider. The perpetrators in this fraud played smart by transferring small chunks of the stolen funds so as not to trigger fraud checks. Flutterwave insists that “no customer funds were lost or compromised, and the confidentiality of our customers’ data remains intact.” This is not Flutterwave’s first rodeo in fraud. Last year, the fintech lost over ₦22 billion ($14 million) in three separate events, as reported by TechCabal. In February and March last year, it lost about ₦2.9 billion ($1.9 million) and ₦550 million ($361,000), respectively, before losing ₦19 billion ($12.4 million) in October. Read Moniepoint’s case study on family-owned businesses Family-owned businesses are everywhere, shaping our world in ways you might not expect. We’ve found some insights into how they work, and we’d love to share them with you. Dive in right away here. Creator Economy Inside Layi’s business of laughter Layi is in the business of laughter. The Nigerian comedian, cosplays “The Law,” a struggling lawyer, and Mr. Richard, a convincing motivational speaker who spins tales of financial independence to lure people into his pyramid scheme. Through these characters, Layi brings humour and joy to millions of people. With an Instagram following of 2 million people, Layi is not just bringing smiles and laughter to our faces; he is also bringing the heat to other comedians. In 2023, the comedian had the second-highest engagement rate—his posts averaged about a hundred thousand likes—on Instagram, surpassing other Nigerian skitmakers like Taooma, Broda Shaggi, and Sabinus. Layi, who began creating content in 2015, is not one to stick to the formula. Instead, the comedian, Isaac Olayiwola, uses audience familiarity with his characters to create humor that playfully challenges stereotypes.While he has perfected this art, Layi isn’t the first to do it. Other comedians have trodden the path but left too quickly. With attention spans down to about 47 seconds, comedians have their clothes cut out for them. Layi typically captures his audience by keeping them hooked from start to finish and making them laugh within one minute. To make profits and appeal to a broader audience, Layi moved from TikTok to Instagram. While the comedian typically makes people laugh within 1 minute, his approach isn’t fit for long-form video platforms like YouTube. Layi says he is focused on making skits for now. Read more about Layi’s incredible journey here. Collect payments anytime anywhere with Fincra Are you dealing with the complexities of collecting payments from your customers? Fincra’s payment gateway makes it easy to accept payments via cards, bank transfers, virtual accounts and mobile money. What’s more? You get to save money on fees when you use Fincra. Get started now. Fintech Jack Dorsey’s TBD teams up with Chipper Cash TBD, a digital payment platform owned by Block and co-founded by Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey, has partnered with Chipper Cash, a leading fintech platform in Africa to reduce the time it takes for people to send and receive money internationally. The goal of the partnership: This partnership with Chipper Cash enables TBD to expand its reach in Africa. Through this collaboration, TBD can now offer its services in 40 African countries. Most importantly, the goal of the partnership is to make it faster and cheaper to send money across borders in Africa. The company “bridges the gap between the old way of doing things and the digital asset space”, Mike Brock, CEO of TBD said. How it works: TBD created an open messaging system called tbDEX. This system connects people who want to send money with people who can provide it. Chipper Cash has now integrated tbDEX as a secure communication channel. When you want to send money through Chipper Cash, tbDEX connects you with someone who has the funds you need in another country. Unlike traditional methods, tbDEX verifies both your identity and the recipient’s identity electronically, ensuring everything is legitimate and following regulations. This eliminates the need for individual bank checks, which can take days. Once tbDEX confirms everything is in order, Chipper Cash facilitates the transfer. One can choose to send either digital assets, like bitcoin, or traditional currency. The recipient also has flexibility—they can receive the money directly in their local currency into their bank account or mobile wallet. The impact of this partnership: Chipper Cash is identified as one of the largest financial technology firms in Africa. It allows its 5 million customers to send money across more than 21 countries on the continent. TBD is a part of Block (formerly known as Square). TBD focuses on creating technologies
Read MoreNew JAMB results release May 2024
The latest update from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) reveals that new JAMB results for 2024, comprising an additional 36,540 outcomes from the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), have been made available to candidates. This announcement comes following the previous release of 531 results, bringing the total tally of released results to 1,879,437. Denial of false claims regarding new JAMB results release 2024 Addressing circulating rumours on social media, JAMB clarified that reports suggesting a compromise of the new JAMB results due to a cyber security breach are entirely unfounded. The board stamped that it has not considered rescheduling the examination and urged the public to dismiss such misinformation as it originates from fraudulent sources aiming to deceive unsuspecting individuals. Identification of fraudulent activities JAMB also highlighted the emergence of counterfeit correspondence purporting to be from the board, falsely claiming the compromise of UTME results. The fraudulent nature of these communications was evident, lacking the essential signatures and official characteristics associated with legitimate JAMB correspondence. Such deceptive actions aim to tarnish the board’s reputation and exploit candidates for illicit gains. Assurance of result integrity Reaffirming its commitment to maintaining the integrity of examination processes, JAMB assured the public that all new JAMB results for 2024, including those released, remain secure and unaffected by external interference. The board clarified that withheld results are under scrutiny for examination misconduct, with ongoing investigations to ascertain the involvement of candidates through thorough examination of CCTV footage from accredited centers. Clarification on cut-off marks JAMB has clarified that institutional minimum admissible scores are determined by individual institutions before being collectively discussed and agreed upon at the annual Policy Meeting on Admissions. Any deviation from these agreed benchmarks is attributed to the institutions themselves, rather than the board. Final thoughts on new JAMB results release May 2024 The release of additional more withheld UTME results for 2024 by JAMB underscores the board’s commitment to transparency and fairness in the examination process. All candidates should bear in mind that the only method available to access the 2024 JAMB results is via SMS.
Read MoreExclusive: Flutterwave loses ₦11 billion in security breach
One month after obtaining a court order to recover $24 million lost to unauthorised POS transactions, Flutterwave suffered another security breach that allowed unknown persons to divert billions of naira to several bank accounts. The perpetrators illegally transferred ₦11 billion ($7 million) to several accounts in April 2024, one financial services insider with direct knowledge of the incident said. A second insider claimed the amount involved was at least ₦20 billion ($13.5 million). “As is common in the financial services industry, there will always be attempts by bad actors tocompromise the security of systems set up to protect and monitor services,” Flutterwave said in a statement to TechCabal. “In April, we detected unauthorized activities inconsistent with usual customer behavior on one ofour platforms used by a small subset of our customer base.” Flutterwave did not specify the amount involved but insisted that “no customer funds were lost or compromised, and the confidentiality of our customers’ data remains intact.” However, one highly-placed person with knowledge of the incident said that the stolen funds were moved to several accounts in five financial institutions over four days. The incident likely went undetected because the perpetrators ensured the deposits remained below limits that would trigger fraud checks. The matter has been reported to law enforcement and investigations have begun, said the same person who asked not to be named. Exclusive: Flutterwave gets court order to recover $24 million lost to unauthorized POS transactions Two executives in the financial services industry confirmed the incident and said Flutterwave reached out to request KYC details of the accounts involved. They also claimed that the accounts related to the incident have been temporarily restricted. In similar system breaches, perpetrators conceal the movement of funds by sending money to the bank accounts of several hundred unsuspecting users. The details of those users are typically obtained online or using social engineering and fed into programs that automate bulk transfers. However, April’s breach appears distinct. An organised network may have been involved in the distribution, said a highly placed staff at a financial institution. “The perpetrators appeared to transfer the money to random accounts but thise same accounts would also transfer money to other accounts who then sent it back to the first beneficiary account, [in a sort of round trip].” This closed-loop approach differs from past attempts to hide the trail using unconnected outsider accounts. Numerous bank accounts frozen for illegal transfers from Flutterwave This is the fourth incident of unauthorised transfers at Flutterwave reported in the last fourteen months. In October 2023, about 6,000 account holders across 35 banks and financial institutions received ₦19 billion (*$24 million) illegally transferred through unauthorised transactions by POS merchants. In March 2023, about 107 bank accounts in 27 banks received ₦550 million. In a February 2023 breach, ₦2.9 billion was diverted to 107 bank accounts in 27 banks, according to court documents seen by TechCabal. Identifying the account owners involved in the latest incident may be easier than before since the Central Bank mandated all financial institutions to require all customers to provide their bank verification number (BVN) or a national identification number (NIN) for account or wallet opening by March 2024. In February, Flutterwave received a court order—a Mareva injunction— that lets it recover the funds and assets of the identified account holders, even though they have spent the funds, with the KYC details provided by these financial institutions.
Read More