Court Halts Govt Ksh6.2 Billion Money Laundering Case Withdrawal
The government has prevented a state agency from withdrawing a Ksh6.2 billion money laundering case against a Nigerian fintech at the center of a lengthy filthy money investigation.
Justice Prof. Nixon Sifuna stated in his ruling on Thursday, July 20, that the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) did not explain the withdrawal, despite having used taxpayer funds to prosecute the case.
ARA argued that they had cleared Flutterwave Payment Technology Limited, Hupesi Solutions, and Adguru Technology Limited in a filthy cash investigation and requested that their accounts be unfrozen.
In a case lodged with the Milimani Law Courts, the ARA informed the Court that, after months of investigation, it had withdrawn the case.
“Upon perusing the aforementioned Notice (issued by ARA), I determined that it did not provide any explanation for the withdrawal,” ruled the judge.
“It also did not refer to negotiations, settlements, or the terms of such negotiations or settlements.”
As they are taxpayer-funded, the court has ruled that public agencies such as ARA must inform Kenyans of the rationale behind major decisions.
“Vices such as corruption, money laundering, economic crime, and organized crime are a public concern and cancer.” Consequently, prosecuting or litigating such matters is a noble profession. For agencies like the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) and EACC, which are tasked with addressing these issues, promoting integrity, and safeguarding public resources, their integrity should be beyond reproach. In his ruling, the judge stated that the integrity of their own decisions and actions must be beyond reproach.
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The three companies, who had been named as respondents, asked the court to dismiss their cases because the government had no further interest in pursuing them.
Flutterwave informed the court that the Recovery Agency conducted an exhaustive investigation into the money laundering case and discovered no evidence. Instead of this, the respondents did not wish to squander any additional judicial resources on further proceedings.
Despite ARA’s and the respondents’ arguments, the High Court refused to make such a judgment and maintained the account freeze.
“Upon perusing the aforementioned Notice (issued by ARA), I discovered that it did not explain the withdrawal. “It also made no reference to negotiations or a settlement, or to the terms of those negotiations or settlement,” the court ruled.
The High Court suspended 45 bank accounts and 10 mobile money wallets belonging to Flutterwave in July 2022 due to multiple allegations of money laundering.
ARA suspended the accounts of the company that facilitates cross-border payments for small and large businesses in Africa after suspecting it of moving criminal proceeds and credit card fraud.
In February 2023, ARA submitted a formal request to withdraw the case, stating that investigations revealed the funds were not connected to money laundering.
The companies were among numerous others accused of illegally transferring billions of shillings in foreign currencies into and out of Kenya.
Court Halts Govt Ksh6.2 Billion Money Laundering Case Withdrawal
