Kenya’s Central Bank has clarified that Africa-focused payments giant and Africa’s highest valued startup Flutterwave is not licensed and should not be operating in Kenya.
“Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or payments service provider in Kenya. They are not licenced to operate and therefore, they should not be operating & I think Chipper Cash, we could also say the same” noted Dr Patrick Njoroge, the Governor of the bank at the virtual post MPC briefing.
A court in Kenya recently froze more than $40 million in accounts belonging Flutterwave under the country’s anti-money laundering laws. Kenya’s Assets Recovery Agency was granted a court order to freeze several accounts with three banks belonging to Kenyan-registered Flutterwave Payment Technology Ltd. Flutterwave issued a statement saying its operations were audited and it continuously engaged regulatory agencies to stay compliant.
Earlier this year, Flutterwave raised $250 million, valuing the startup at more than $3 billion.
