• PalmPay says N750.3m KudiWave funds transferred under valid court order
• Protesters allege illegal movement of clients’, investors’ funds
• Police assure protesters IGP will give petition urgent attention

Aggrieved staff and supporters of KudiWave Technologies Nigeria Limited yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, over the transfer of more than N750 million from the fintech company’s PalmPay account.

Dressed in solemn attire and carrying placards, the protesters accused the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, and PalmPay of being involved in what they described as an unauthorised movement of funds belonging to the company, its clients and investors.

The protesters, who submitted a fresh petition to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, displayed placards with inscriptions including, “IGP Save Our Business,” “PalmPay and PSFU Return Our N750m,” “KudiWave Is Not A Fraudulent Organisation,” and “Stop Extortion of Fintech Companies.”

However, PalmPay, in a separate statement, denied any wrongdoing, explaining that it transferred N750,369,439.04 from KudiWave’s account in compliance with a Federal High Court order that was valid at the time.

Addressing journalists during the protest, KudiWave’s Company Secretary, Prince Oko Kalu, said the company’s operations were crippled after its account was placed under a post-no-debit (PND) restriction without what he described as adequate notice or formal invitation.

Kalu alleged that the restriction was imposed in April following an action by the PSFU and that subsequent attempts to resolve the matter resulted in demands for money from some police officers.

He alleged that an initial demand of N50 million was made before an intermediary subsequently requested N5 million, which he said was paid in dollars. According to him, the payment did not lead to the lifting of the restriction.

Kalu further alleged that the PSFU later obtained an order directing the movement of the company’s funds to a police account.

He said KudiWave filed a legal challenge on July 3 and that the Federal High Court subsequently set aside the order on July 22.

According to him, the company became aware that its entire balance had been transferred when it approached PalmPay after obtaining the court ruling.

“Now we came with the order to ask PalmPay to release our account so that we’ll resume our business, only to realise that the entire fund in our account, up to N750,339,399.99, was moved,” he said.

Kalu questioned the narration attached to the transaction, alleging that while the court order referred to a police exhibit account, the transaction appeared to have been made to an Access Bank business account.

He also rejected claims that KudiWave lacked a verifiable business address, saying PalmPay representatives had previously visited the company’s office.

Kalu called on the IGP to order an independent investigation, saying the company had submitted four petitions over the matter without a resolution.

Responding to the protesters, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Federal Operations, Wilson Akpan, assured them that their petition would receive the attention of the police authorities.

Akpan said the IGP was an experienced investigator and urged the protesters to remain calm while the matter was reviewed.

“This matter you have brought before the head of the force will be critically looked into and solved,” he said.
“Whatever is due to you, you will get it.”

The protesters later proceeded to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where they submitted another copy of their petition.

Meanwhile, PalmPay, through its Head of Legal, Toyosi Kolawole, said the dispute began on April 15, when the Federal High Court placed a 90-day PND restriction on KudiWave’s account as part of an investigation.

The company said a separate court order issued on June 29 directed it to disclose KudiWave’s account balance and transfer the funds to a designated Police Recovery Account.

PalmPay said the police formally communicated the order to it on June 30 and that it notified KudiWave the same day, giving the company an opportunity to challenge the order.

It said it transferred N750,369,439.04 to the designated Police Recovery Account on July 15, stressing that the June 29 order had not been set aside when the transfer was made.

PalmPay said the Federal High Court subsequently set aside the order on July 22. It added that it was not served with a hearing notice for the proceedings or the ruling.

The company said it later wrote to the police on July 28 requesting the return of the funds to KudiWave’s account, but was served with a Stay of Execution and Notice of Appeal by the police the following day.

PalmPay said it received the Record of Appeal on September 3 and commenced legal proceedings on September 4, maintaining that its actions were based on the court orders available to it at the time.

The company said the legal dispute remains subject to the ongoing appeal.