A recent ruling by the Kenyan High Court in favor of the Nigerian fintech startup Flutterwave will see it finally get access to $3 million which has been frozen since July 2022. The judge slammed the Assets Recovery Agency for continuing to hold onto the funds even after it withdrew its suit against Flutterwave.
Flutterwave’s Legal Battle Against Kenyan Anti-Graft Agency Ends
A Kenyan court has reportedly issued an order to unfreeze $3 million belonging to the Nigerian fintech startup Flutterwave and two associated companies. This ruling is expected to put an end to a protracted legal battle over the frozen funds, which persisted even after the anti-graft agency Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) withdrew its lawsuit against the startup.
As reported by Bitcoin.com News in July 2022, over 50 bank accounts containing funds linked to Flutterwave were frozen at the request of the Kenyan anti-corruption agency. The ARA sought the freeze order following an investigation that tied these bank accounts to “suspicious activities.” At the time, the cumulative balance across these accounts exceeded $60 million.
Flutterwave has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and in early 2023, the startup’s CEO reportedly went to Kenya to seek the funds’ release. However, about a month later, the first case against the startup was withdrawn which resulted in the release of more than $50 million. The ARA nevertheless continued to hold on to some of the remaining funds drawing the ire of the judge.
“Such a litigation facade or decoy is inappropriate, an abuse of the court process, and an attempt at squandering the scarce judicial time,” the Nairobi judge reportedly said.
According to the report, Flutterwave will now attempt to get a Kenyan payments and remittance license.
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