IN a crucial legal twist, the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) in Kenya has faced a setback as its request to dismiss the lawsuit against Flutterwave, a prominent payments company, was rejected by a Kenyan judge.
Judge Nixon Sifuna of the High Court in Nairobi raised concerns over the ARA’s decision to drop the case, especially considering that the agency had presented evidence of Flutterwave’s alleged wrongdoing before the court.
According to court documents dated July 20, 2023, the judge highlighted that the ARA had submitted several documents proving that millions of dollars held in Flutterwave’s account were acquired through illegal means.
In light of this evidence, Judge Sifuna ruled against dismissing the case, further stating that Flutterwave’s accounts would remain frozen until an affidavit is sworn by either the CEO of ARA or a senior official, stating that there is insufficient evidence against the payments company.
The legal battle between the ARA and Flutterwave has been ongoing since August 2022 when a Kenyan court first froze KSh 400.6 million ($3.3 million) in Flutterwave’s accounts. The freeze came as a response to allegations of money laundering and card fraud, marking the second time that year the company faced such accusations.
As part of the court’s ruling, Flutterwave was barred from transferring or withdrawing funds from three bank accounts – two in United Bank for Africa (UBA) and one in Access Bank – as well as 19 Safaricom M-Pesa paybill numbers.
It is worth noting that the ARA had previously applied to freeze Flutterwave’s accounts in July 2023, resulting in KSh 6.2 billion ($52.5 million) spread across 62 bank accounts being locked until February 2023, when the agency decided to withdraw the case.
With the latest ruling, the legal battle between the ARA and Flutterwave continues, and the frozen assets remain under scrutiny pending further proceedings in court.
