After recording losses to fraud in recent years, Flutterwave has partnered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to build a cutting-edge cybercrime research centre in Nigeria.
According to reports, Flutterwave recently obtained a court order to recover $24 million lost to unauthorised POS transactions. The payment company also allegedly lost N11 billion ($7 million) to several accounts in April 2024,
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Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave’s chief executive officer, and Mohammadu Hammajoda, the EFCC secretary, signed a memorandum of understanding on June 14 in Abuja, which was made public on Thursday. Other representatives present during the signing were EFCC chair Ola Olukoyede and Christopher Gray for the FBI, among others.
According to Agboola, Flutterwave is well-versed with the tactics of Internet fraudsters known as Yahoo Boys and would train anti-corruption agents using sophisticated tech tools and techniques to detect and prevent these crimes.
He added that the cybercrime research centre has become necessary due to the prevalence of internet fraud, which, if left unaddressed, could destroy the stability and hard-earned trust in financial systems.
In a statement, Flutterwave’s CEO said, “The state-of-the-art centre, to be built at the EFCC academy, would focus on seven key areas: advanced fraud detection and prevention, collaborative research and policy development, youth empowerment and capacity building, technological advancement, and resource enablement.”
The tech mogul also commended the efforts of the EFCC, Nigeria’s financial crime police, in tackling cyber fraud and bringing perpetrators to book. “We applaud the EFCC’s relentless efforts to combat internet fraud and other illicit activities in the financial sector,” Agboola said.
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Olukoyede, the EFCC boss, said that the cybercrime research centre is a step in the right direction to equip operatives with the knowledge and skills “to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.”
“The EFCC is impressed with the strides and expanse of Flutterwave across Africa. This partnership marks a significant leap forward in our efforts to combat financial crimes and ensure a secure financial landscape for Nigerians,” he said. “The cybercrime research centre will significantly enhance our capabilities to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.”
