Just a few days after eight bank accounts including that of Flutterwave were frozen over money laundering charges, two more Nigerian firms, Korapay and Kandon Technologies have also seen their accounts frozen over claims that they are being used by fraudsters as conduits of international money laundering.
According to a Standard Media report, a Kenyan High count issued the orders in two separate suits filed by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) against the Nigerian firms. In the first case against Korapay Technologies Ltd, Justice Maina froze $249,990 (Sh29.5 million) in their account at Equity Bank, while Kandon Technologies Ltd had its Sh15 million in two accounts at UBA bank frozen.
The ARA states that the two companies are part of an international ring of fraudsters who have been using Kenyan banks as conduits of illicit money whose source cannot be established.
ARA claims that Korapay Technologies Ltd, owned by Gideon Oghenetega Orowiroro and Dickson Chukwuma Nsofor had been receiving millions of shillings in their accounts before transferring the funds to other individuals while Kandon Technologies Ltd siphoned Sh5.5 billion which was transacted through its bank account at UBA in a period of seven months between October 2021 and April this year.
“Our investigations revealed that Kandon’s account, owned by Nigerian nationals Uzoamaka Pauline Okoro and Ayowole Oluwasen Ayodele, had transacted Sh5.5 billion in seven months and by the time we got intelligence information that they were engaged in money laundering, they had transferred the funds to other jurisdictions with only Sh15 million remaining.”
ARA has linked the two companies to the other entities whose bank accounts were frozen last week over allegations that they are engaged in card fraud and international money laundering.
The Nigerian firms are now named as shell companies incorporated in Kenya for purposes of taking advantage of the liberal financial system to launder funds whose sources are not legitimate.
The court ruled that no withdrawals or transfers should be made from the accounts for six months to allow the Asset Recovery Agency complete investigations into the allegations of money laundering.
