Court orders banks to unfreeze bank accounts in connection with the 2.9 billion Naira Flutterwave hack last year. A court sitting in Lagos has currently ordered 27 banks to unfreeze accounts that are in connection with a 2.9 billion Naira Flutterwave hack back in February 2023.
And while the court has now ordered banks to take away the lien that is placed on the accounts, account owners have revealed that Providus Bank and Access Bank are still to comply.
Court Orders Banks to Unfreeze Bank Accounts
Based on documents obtained by Techpoint Africa, recipients affected by the ₦2.9 billion hack on Flutterwave have secured a court order from The Magistrate Court of Lagos (Yaba Magisterial District sitting at Yaba) to lift the lien placed on their accounts on February 27, 2023. Techpoint Africa initially reported on March 5, 2023, that hackers had unlawfully transferred ₦2,949,557,867 from the accounts of Flutterwave, a prominent African fintech unicorn.
What Flutterwave Has To Say About This New Development
In response, Flutterwave’s legal representatives notified the Deputy Commissioner of Police and filed a motion to freeze a total of 107 accounts. However, the same court has now issued orders to unfreeze some of these accounts.
Although the court has lifted the post-no-debit restriction on the accounts, certain account holders have reported that two banks, Access Bank and Providus Bank, have not complied with the court’s directive. Techpoint Africa has reached out to Flutterwave for comment, and the company is expected to issue a statement addressing the matter shortly.
Other Development in Regards to the Last Year Hack
This development follows a separate incident wherein a High Court authorized Flutterwave to recover ₦19 billion ($24 million) lost due to unauthorized transactions by point of sale (PoS) merchants on its online platform.
The Recovery Procedure According To Flutterwave
According to Flutterwave, the discovery was made on October 10, 2023, revealing that numerous PoS device merchants had exploited their access privileges to conduct illicit transfers on its platform due to a “technical glitch.”
The recovery procedure involves contacting 6,000 account holders across 35 banks. Similarly, the previous year’s hack also implicated several banks, which Flutterwave’s legal representatives criticized for enabling the funds to be transferred to other accounts, thus complicating the investigation.
The recent court order underscores Flutterwave’s ongoing efforts to recuperate funds that were unlawfully transferred a year ago.
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