Olugbenga Agboola, Nigerian tech billionaire and CEO of leading fintech unicorn Flutterwave, has responded to West Africa Weekly’s allegations of financial and personal misconduct leveled against him and the startup.
After a week of drama that has heightened interest in the African fintech ecosystem among market participants and the general public, Olugbenga Agboola, also known by his initials “GB,” responded to allegations of serial financial misconduct, including insider trading, fraud, and perjury, in an email sent to employees of the African fintech unicorn.
In the email, the Nigerian tech entrepreneur and leading fintech founder did not reveal any new information or admit to any wrongdoing.
In his statement, he stated that the fact that allegations of financial impropriety, conflict of interest, and sexual harassment have been proven false or have already been reported, investigated, and addressed by management renders any future allegations from any entity null and void.
“As the company’s founder and CEO, it is my responsibility to address any concerns you may have, and this will be a priority for me moving forward as these claims may have shaken your confidence in the company,” Agboola wrote.
He went on to say that Flutterwave was “conducting a thorough review” of the claims as part of its commitment to compliance and ethical responsibility.
Agboola’s email address comes nearly a week after David Hundeyin, a journalist and the founder of West Africa Weekly, accused Agboola of serial misconduct, including “insider trading” by offering to buy “stock options” from employees at a lower price than the market price, claiming it was a violation of U.S. SEC regulations that could result in jail time.
Nearly two months ago, Flutterwave raised $250 million in a Series-D fundraising round, making the fintech unicorn Africa’s most valuable company with a valuation of more than $3 billion.
The Series-D funding comes on the heels of a spectacular five-year run in which Flutterwave has completed more than 200 million transactions totaling over $16 billion across 34 African nations.
