Flutterwave, the African fintech unicorn, has reportedly lost ₦2,949,557,867 to illegal transfers from its accounts. According to documents seen by Prime 9ja Online, the hack occurred about two weeks ago, and the money was initially transferred to 28 accounts in 63 transactions. While the incident was reported to the police on February 13, 2023, with the list of accounts that had received the money, the police could not freeze the funds.
Some commercial banks reportedly allowed the money to be moved to other accounts, further widening the money trail. To investigate accounts holding the stolen funds across various financial institutions in Nigeria, Flutterwave’s legal counsel, Albert Onimole, reported the case to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
Flutterwave’s legal officer, S.A. Adedesin, filed a suit in the Magistrate Court of Lagos (Yaba Magisterial District sitting at Yaba) to support Flutterwave’s claims, to investigate accounts holding the stolen funds across various financial institutions in Nigeria. The suit is between the Commissioner of Police and several financial institutions, including Access Bank, Providus Bank, Union Bank, Keystone Bank, PalmPay, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Kuda Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Polaris Bank, Wema Bank, Sterling Bank, Ecobank, Paycom, Fidelity Bank, Eyowo, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Opay, VFD Microfinance Bank, Carbon, Moniepoint, Al-Hayat Microfinance Bank, PiggyVest, and Nomba (previously Kudi).
While there are no documents to confirm if the court has ruled in favour of Inspector Micheal’s motion, some people have confirmed that their accounts have been frozen in connection to the hack. A Twitter user said that they received an email from their bank, stating that they were a fourth beneficiary to the fraud money, and their account had been locked.
Per the motion filed by Adebesin, 107 accounts, including fifth beneficiaries of those accounts, are to be placed on lien/Post-No-Debit (PND). With the stolen funds distributed across several accounts, which may or may not have anything to do with the hack, it is not clear at this time who hacked Flutterwave.
The incident raises questions about how hackers got past Flutterwave’s security and what this means for the unicorn’s customers. As of press time, Flutterwave has not responded to inquiries from Prime 9ja Online. It is not clear if the company is conducting an internal investigation, but the loss of such a significant amount of money will no doubt have implications for the fintech firm.
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola, with its headquarters in San Francisco and offices in Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, and Johannesburg. The startup has raised over $570m in funding and was valued at $3.6bn after its latest funding round in November 2021. Flutterwave’s platform is used by businesses to process payments, and it has grown significantly since its launch. The company currently operates in over 30 African countries and is considered one of the continent’s leading fintech firms.
The news of the hack comes at a time when the African fintech sector is growing at a rapid pace, with investors pouring in millions of dollars into various startups. Flutterwave has been at the forefront of this growth, and its loss could have implications for investor confidence in the industry. Additionally, the incident could lead to tighter regulations for fintech firms.