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Kenyan asset recovery agency drops fraud charges against Nigerian fintech startup, Kora

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Kenyan Asset Recovery Agency (ARA), on Monday, withdrew fraud and money laundering charges it had filed against against Nigerian fintech startup, Kora.

The charges against the Nigerian startup by the Kenyan agency were filed in July following accusations of money laundering and card fraud in the eastern African country, with the ARA going further to freeze the accounts of the company.

However, new court documents released on Monday show that the ARA has filed a notice of withdrawal of the charges at the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.

In the document which was filed by state counsel, Stephen Githinji, on behalf of ARA director, the agency said that it had withdrawn its suit in its entirety.

Another document issued by the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCIA), also confirmed that the agency has cleared Kora of any wrongdoing.

“Please note that investigations are now finalised. I would like to confirm that allegations of money laundering and card fraud against [Kora] were not established. Please treat this communication as final,” the DCI report said.

Kora’s Chief Operations Officer, Gideon Orovwiroro, in a statement, also confirmed the development.

“Kora has always maintained its innocence in this matter and we are glad that finally the ARA and the DCI have dropped all charges and ratified Kora.

“We’d also like to commend both agencies for their professionalism and thoroughness in seeing this investigation to the conclusive end,” says

“We are delighted to get back to building the most robust payment product on the African continent. We have some exciting announcements coming soon, including multi-currency bank account products for African businesses.

“This will empower merchants to have bank accounts in GBP, EUR, USD and other in-demand currencies. Kora is excited about this development as it is further proof of its commitment to enrich the quality of merchants’ payments and build more meaningful financial products.”

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ADB signs $15m transaction guarantee facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank

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The African Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $15 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank aimed at unlocking trade finance opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as agri-business and trade distribution value chains in the country.

At the signing ceremony held at the NMB Bank Headquarters in Harare, ADB Country Manager for Zimbabwe, Moono Mupotola, signed on behalf of the Bank while NMB Bank Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Gore, signed on behalf of the bank.

Speaking shortly after the brief ceremony, Mupotola said the African Development Bank’s board had earlier approved the project in November 2023, with the facility offering up to 100% coverage to confirming banks, effectively mitigating non-payment risks linked to NMB Bank’s trade transactions on a per-transaction basis.

“It is tailored to support trade between Zimbabwe and other African countries and with overseas markets by significantly diminishing the risk for international financial institutions actively engaging in trade finance activities with Zimbabwean businesses,” Mupotola said.

“The African Development Bank is committed to supporting the development of the private sector in Zimbabwe. This is a significant step forward in supporting the growth and competitiveness of Zimbabwean businesses.

“By mitigating risk and facilitating access to trade finance, we are empowering SMEs and local corporates to participate more actively in regional and international trade,” she said.

Also speaking, Gore emphasized the agreement’s importance for Zimbabwe’s economic development.

“This facility will be instrumental in enabling NMB to provide crucial trade finance support to a wider range of Zimbabwean businesses. This will not only unlock new trade opportunities but also contribute to job creation and economic growth.

“SMEs often face challenges in accessing trade finance compared to their larger counterparts. This initiative directly addresses this gap, fostering a more vibrant and inclusive business environment in Zimbabwe,” Gore said.

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Ghana’s communications regulator predicts subsea cable repairs could take five weeks

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According to Ghana’s communications regulator, it will likely take at least five weeks to fully restore service relying on the damaged subsea cables causing internet outages throughout West and Central Africa.

Many businesses that are connected to the internet and telecommunications, such as banks, phone companies, money transfer services, and stock exchange markets, have been severely disrupted as a result of the cable break.

Equinix, a data centre operator, reported on Friday that a “external incident” caused a cut to its cable system in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa, near Cote D’Ivoire. It excluded human activity as the reason.

 

The four subsea cable landing service providers—Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, which is owned by data centre operator Equinix (EQIX.O), opens new tab, South Atlantic 3 (SAT-3) and the West Africa Cable System (WACS)—as well as mobile network operators were present at the meeting, according to Ghana’s National Communications Authority.

“The cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five weeks for full service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations,” the regulator said.

It stated that the service providers had determined the general location of the damage and were getting ready to send out repair ships.

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