JP Morgan Chase, World’s Largest Bank, Sets Up 3rd African Office in Kenya After...

7 months after freezing Flutterwave’s bank accounts, the Kenyan government has dropped its charges of financial impropriety against Flutterwave, one of Africa’s 9 unicorn startups.

This was confirmed by a report by Bloomberg, which got access to a Kenyan High Court document and also verified by Robert Gitau, a lawyer representing Flutterwave.

This is good news for Flutterwave that was rocked by several allegations both at home and abroad in 2022.

Problems in Kenya cropped up in June 2022 when the local Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) accused Flutterwave of money laundering leading the High Court of Kenya to order banks to freeze $40 million in its bank accounts in July 2022.

According to ARA, Flutterwave’s bank account operations raised suspicion with questionable transactions coming in from  foreign entities and then being transferred to other accounts instead of settlement to merchants.

Flutterwave however denied the allegations putting out a statement which was captured by various media agencies:

“Claims of financial improprieties involving the company in Kenya are entirely false, and we have the records to verify this. We are a financial technology company that maintains the highest regulatory standards in our operations. Our anti-money laundering practices and operations are regularly audited by one of the Big Four firms.

We remain proactive in our engagements with regulatory bodies to continue to stay compliant.”

– FlutterWave

ARA also claimed that Flutterwave was operating its payment platform without proper authorization. This was confirmed by the Central Bank of Kenya in July 2022, when the Governor, Patrick Njoroge, stated that Flutterwave was one of two African fintechs without necessary license to provide remittance or payment services in Kenya.

This revelation was followed by a letter signed by the apex bank’s Deputy Director of Bank Supervision, Matu Mugo, ordering financial institutions in Kenya to stop any dealings with Flutterwave.

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JP Morgan Chase $ Company, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, will be opening a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, in a move described by the President of Kenya, William Ruto, as a ‘vote for Kenya’s emerging success in the global marketplace.’

The bold decision taken by J.P. Morgan — one of the world’s leading financial services firms — to set up a regional office in Nairobi is a vote for Kenya’s emerging success in the global marketplace. pic.twitter.com/8Xr5JbRtvt

— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) February 21, 2023

President Ruto also said he held talks with the bank’s officials and discussed the revision of development financing to be more responsive to climate change.

“We welcome the firm’s expertise in environmental risks that will help Kenya to sustainably confront the climate change crisis,” he noted.

The bank provides services including consumer banking, investment banking, commercial banking, and asset management for individuals, corporations, institutions, and governments globally. Its Corporate & Investment Bank segment is the largest source of net income.

The decision by JP Morgan to set up follows plans that were set rolling in 2018 when CEO, James Dimon, revealed that the famed bank had hired a special team of bankers to help coordinate and expand the bank’s relationships in Kenya and Ghana.

“You’ll see us open in some countries we are not in. In Africa you’ll be hearing about some of that stuff,” Chief Executive, Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland in 2018.

JP Morgan encountered regulatory issues in both countries in 2015 but sustained its efforts so as to take advantage of large multinationals who are not well-served by local investment banking firms due to a lack of expertise in handling large transactions.

The bank is thought to be targeting U.S. multinationals entering the region, as well as wealth funds and universities, while the regional office will function as a central location for its operations in East Africa. The bank, which already has offices in Nigeria and South Africa, Africa’s leading economies, is said to be stepping up global expansion efforts.

The establishment of a regional office in Nairobi by JP Morgan is anticipated to generate employment opportunities and encourage an influx of foreign investment to Kenya.

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