Kudiwave urges IG to probe PalmPay’s alleged N750m transfer
Kudiwave Technologies Limited has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to order an independent and forensic investigation into the alleged withholding and transfer of approximately N750 million belonging to the company from its PalmPay account.
The company made the demand in a petition dated September 14, 2026, through its solicitors, Tony Eseigbe & Co., raising concerns over the handling of the funds by the Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos, and disputing allegations that the money formed part of an alleged “round-tripping” scheme involving Master Solution Concept Limited, Kredilink Technologies Limited, Nexall Technologies Limited and other entities.
According to Kudiwave, the disputed funds were received from Nexall Technologies Limited as part of a legitimate commercial transaction involving digital-asset settlement, and the company has asked the police to establish the actual source and movement of the money through documentary evidence and banking records.
The petition states that on March 28, 2026, Kudiwave requested liquidity from Nexall in exchange for USDT. Nexall, according to the petition, sourced naira from several independent counterparties.
One of those counterparties was Kredilink Technologies Limited, which allegedly provided N200 million to Nexall from a Nom Bank Microfinance Bank account.
Kudiwave’s lawyers further identified other inflows into Nexall’s account on the same day, including approximately N199.8 million from Fintrix Technologies Limited, N282.4 million from Sturdi-Steel Nigeria Limited and N101.697 million from GreatRex Global Concepts.
The petition puts the identified inflows into Nexall’s account at approximately N783.9 million, before Nexall subsequently transferred N750 million in three separate transactions to Kudiwave’s PalmPay account.
Kudiwave argues that the existence of multiple independent inflows requires investigators to establish a clear documentary trail before attributing the entire N750 million to any particular alleged source.
The company also questioned the connection between the N750 million transferred to its PalmPay account and an alleged erroneous transfer of N713.913 million referenced in a separate Federal High Court matter involving United Bank for Africa Plc and Master Solution Concept Limited and others.
Kudiwave noted in its petition that neither Kudiwave nor Nexall was joined as a defendant in that suit and maintained that the figures and transaction trails should be independently examined.
Dispute over court orders and the funds
A significant part of the petition concerns the subsequent restriction and transfer of the money from Kudiwave’s PalmPay account.
The petition refers to a Federal High Court ruling delivered on July 22, 2026, which, according to Kudiwave, set aside earlier orders made on June 29 directing the reversal of funds from its PalmPay account to a designated Police Recovery Account and ordered the removal of restrictions on the account.
The petition further cites a July 28 letter from PalmPay to the Special Fraud Unit, stating that PalmPay notified the police of the subsequent court ruling and requested that N750,369,439.04 standing in the designated Police Recovery Account be returned to Kudiwave’s PalmPay account.
Kudiwave’s lawyers are therefore asking the Inspector-General of Police to establish what happened to the funds after the court’s ruling and why the money had not, according to their account, been restored.
The company is also asking for a complete accounting of all funds received into the designated Police Recovery Account in connection with the matter, including the legal instrument relied upon for each receipt, the date the money was received and its present location.
Call for independent investigation
Kudiwave said its petition is not intended to obstruct any legitimate investigation into financial crime, but rather to ensure that any investigation is based on verifiable banking records and an identifiable money trail.
The company is specifically asking the IGP to:
- Order an independent forensic investigation into the disputed transactions.
- Obtain and examine the bank statements of all relevant companies and accounts.
- Establish the precise source and movement of each payment.
- Investigate the conduct of officers of the Special Fraud Unit involved in the matter.
- Determine the legal basis for the continued withholding of Kudiwave’s funds.
- Establish the whereabouts and status of the N750,369,439.04 identified in connection with the Police Recovery Account.
- Take appropriate action where any police officer is found to have abused his or her office or unlawfully interfered with the company’s funds.
The petition also contains allegations concerning the conduct of a former Commissioner of Police attached to the Special Fraud Unit, including an alleged demand for money in connection with the restriction on Kudiwave’s account. Those allegations have not been independently established.
PalmPay seeks court protection
Meanwhile, the Punch report states that PalmPay Limited has approached the Lagos State High Court seeking an order restraining Kudiwave from making or circulating statements concerning the transfer of the funds. PalmPay’s application, dated September 4, 2026, concerns the transfer of N750,369,439.04 from Kudiwave’s account to the designated Police Recovery Account.
PalmPay has also disputed Kudiwave’s position concerning the timing and legal effect of the June 29 order, maintaining that the order was still subsisting when the transfer was carried out.
The competing positions have consequently placed greater emphasis on the need to establish the chronology of the court orders, the movement of the funds and the underlying banking transactions.
Kudiwave’s counsel, Prince Kalu, said the company wants the matter determined through an independent examination of the evidence rather than assumptions based solely on the movement of funds between companies. Punch reported that Kalu argued that investigators should trace specific funds rather than treat the entire balance in an account as proceeds of an alleged transaction.
For Kudiwave, the central issue remains the establishment of a demonstrable connection between the alleged UBA funds and the N750 million received by Kudiwave, rather than relying on the timing or proximity of transactions.
The company has therefore urged the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that all relevant banking records, court documents and transaction histories are secured and independently examined.
