PalmPay reacts to reports over N750m KudiWave account dispute

PalmPay Limited has been accused of threatening media outlets with possible arrest and demanding the removal of reports concerning its ongoing dispute with KudiWave Technologies Limited.

The development comes after several media platforms reported on questions surrounding the movement of N750,369,439.04 from KudiWave’s PalmPay account. In response, PalmPay reportedly stated that KudiWave’s address and the ownership of the account were unknown, prompting KudiWave to present evidence challenging that position, which the media outlets subsequently reported.

The initial reports focused on the movement of the funds while KudiWave’s account was under restriction. Court proceedings showed that KudiWave had challenged a June 29 order affecting the account, with its application heard by Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala on July 13.

While the matter was awaiting the court’s decision, KudiWave’s account records showed that PalmPay removed N750,369,439.04 from the account on July 15 under the narration “Judicial Adjustment.”

PalmPay has maintained that the transfer was carried out pursuant to the June 29 court order and has disputed suggestions that it acted independently in moving the funds.

Justice Kala subsequently ruled on July 22, setting aside, vacating and discharging the June 29 order and directing that restrictions on KudiWave’s account be removed.

However, as questions continued over the movement and destination of the N750.37 million, PalmPay reportedly stated that KudiWave’s address and the ownership of the account involved in the dispute were unknown.

That claim prompted KudiWave to present evidence of previous dealings between both companies.

The records included PalmPay correspondence identifying KudiWave Technologies Limited and Account No. 8889232516, as well as a July 28 letter requesting that N750,369,439.04 be transferred from a designated Police Recovery Account back to KudiWave’s PalmPay account.

KudiWave also presented a photograph from a March 18 visit to its Lagos headquarters involving three top PalmPay officials, who it said were Chinese and accompanied by a Nigerian police escort.

Following publication of those records, PalmPay has now been accused of contacting media outlets carrying the reports and demanding that the stories be removed, with warnings that publishers could face arrest if they failed to comply.

The alleged messages have introduced a new dimension to a dispute that had previously centred on the transaction itself, the court proceedings and the documentary record surrounding KudiWave’s account.

The development has also raised questions over why attention appears to be shifting towards the media platforms reporting the matter instead of the outstanding issues contained in the reports.

At the centre of the controversy remains the movement of N750,369,439.04, KudiWave’s request for a complete transaction trail, and questions surrounding the account to which the funds were transferred.

With KudiWave having produced evidence to challenge PalmPay’s reported position on its identity and account ownership, the latest allegations of threats against media outlets have intensified scrutiny over why the focus appears to be on removing the reports instead of resolving the underlying dispute.