News
Ping Express Dispels Money Laundering Claims, Says Nigerians Are Treated Harshly for having Ineffective Anti-Money Laundering Policy
Ping Express, a financial technology company that was alleged to have laundered $160 million to Nigeria has debunked claims.
The company denied the claims in a statement released on Tuesday and made available to Nigeria CommunicationsWeeks.
According to the statement, “Ping express debunked claims that the company or its past directors were involved in money laundering or fraud. In the last two and a half years, Ping Express, a financial technology company has been dragged through the US court system on unsubstantiated allegations, including money laundering.
“We deny any allegations that we participated in money laundering activities via our platform; and the court records are available and very clear.
“It is deeply saddening that a technology that was designed to help immigrants stay connected to their families could have been grossly misused by a few of the platform’s over 80 thousand customers.”
The Company did not steal from anyone and did not know or conspired with anyone to steal a dollar from anyone. The court documents and rulings are clear. No losses and no restitution were imposed on the company nor its founders and this validates that the US court recognized that no fraud was perpetrated within the company’s platform nor was fraud aided or abetted by its founders.
Ping Express served more than 80,000 hardworking and honest Nigerians in the US and more in other parts of the world. Ping Express operated in more than 28 countries including UK, Canada and several European countries and served immigrants from 27 African countries with consistent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that were reviewed and approved by regulators. It is of importance to note that some of the Ping’s users that were queried by the DOJ were customers of the top 2 competition.
These users paid Ping directly from their personal bank accounts in the US. All its customers were verified and went through extensive screening before their transactions were processed. Internal limits, which were subject to review per the Company’s policy, are the basis for which we were non-compliant. In essence, customers have no hard limits per the Company’s policies (not external limits). Ping operated strict compliance standards, and ensured users paid from their personal bank accounts.
Unfortunately. the US government insisted that Ping didn’t consider and file enough suspicious reports on all its customers despite them paying from their personal bank accounts with monies already housed by American banks who in the dynamics that Ping know are the ones responsible for the flagging of the source of the monies in their customers’ accounts.
It was apparently expected that its owners will know every single Nigerian by name, creed, behavior and track record, as amusing as this sounds, it’s concerning and a pointer to many other things that has crystallized in this matter.
It is depressing to view the malicious and baseless claims being reported in the Nigerian media. It is shocking with malicious relish at which several Nigerian-based media have picked up on the story, seemingly driven by their worst sensationalist instincts, as they have embroidered the tale with outlandish plot elements that have a tenuous grip on reality.
They have maliciously reported so-called facts without taking some time to investigate or verify information read on other platforms; this is not in consonance with the time-tested norm in journalism practice, which is should still be relevant in today’s journalism.
This becomes a sample case for us all to find Company founders being held liable for internal control failures of their Company, especially when they had no personal relationship with its users. However, this is what the Ping former owners are faced with.
“We focused on making the simple task of helping a family much easier. We worked very hard with integrity to develop a system that disrupted the marketplace. Rather than join other companies in creating customer service and relations team outside Nigeria, we were passionate about Nigeria and built one of the first outsourcing unit in Nigeria, employing over 40 Nigerians. History is the best judge” Said Anslem Oshionebo
“Having led an extremely expensive and painful legal battle with the US regulators over the last 3 years, with the full support of my wife, it was simply time to make decision that was only in the best interest of my family. I stand proud of what we have achieved for the Nigerian and African community in US and other part of the world.” said Opeyemi Odeyale, former COO and co-founder of Ping Express.
National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system to strengthen legal identity management and improve demographic data.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday, Mr Afolabi Yori, federal commissioner representing Kogi, said the initiative became operational nationwide on July 1, through the VitalReg platform.
Yori described the development as a landmark in Nigeria’s civil registration system, noting that it would modernise birth and death registration through a technology-driven platform that meets international standards.
He said the digital platform would improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria was accurately documented and securely stored.
According to him, civil registration is more than an administrative process, as it provides reliable statistics that support public policy formulation, resource allocation and national development planning.
“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent,” he said.
The commissioner said that the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and was working to expand the number to about 8,000.
He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with stakeholders to improve the capacity of registration personnel and ensure prompt documentation of vital events through the VitalReg platform.
Yori said the platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, and reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel.
He disclosed that the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnks-forte Technologies Ltd. as the commission’s technical partner to ensure system availability, cybersecurity and continuous technological improvement.
He called on parents, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media to support the initiative by encouraging the prompt registration of births and deaths.
Earlier, Samuel Omonakpeme, director in Kogi, NPC State, described the commencement of the digital registration system as another milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Omonakpeme stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.9, which seeks to provide legal identity for all.
He appreciated the Federal Government, the leadership of the commission, UNICEF and other development partners for supporting the implementation of the initiative.
The state director also urged parents, guardians, health institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and the media to mobilise public support for the timely registration of all births and deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that ICT personnel of the commission, led by Ehimoni Kolawole, conducted a live demonstration of the digital birth registration process using the VitalReg platform.
The demonstration showed that the registration process captures the biodata of both parents, while at least one parent must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to complete the registration of a newborn.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that two foreign currency accounts opened in connection with the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, with no funds deposited and no transactions recorded.
The revelation emerged on Monday during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the council.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that the PFIPC was created and operated without a valid legal framework and outside the established procedures required for government agencies and institutions.
Appearing before the committee, representatives of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced their institutions from the establishment of the council.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation stated that it neither created the council nor possessed the constitutional authority to establish federal agencies.
Representing the office, officials explained that the OHCSF is only responsible for approving administrative structures of government agencies after all necessary requirements have been fulfilled.
According to the office, records showed that the council submitted a request on August 6, 2025, seeking approval for its organisational structure.
However, the application was not approved because the required supporting documents were not attached.
The committee heard that despite the rejection of the request, officials linked to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC later appeared during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise and sought approval for staffing and recruitment arrangements.
The office disclosed that the council informed government officials that its activities were being carried out largely through personnel seconded or deployed from other institutions.
Lawmakers were told that the council requested approval for a total of 314 positions. The figure consisted of 14 existing officers and an additional 300 proposed positions.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service further revealed that concerns later arose regarding documents presented by the council as evidence of its legal backing.
Officials told the committee that upon examination, the documents failed to display essential features expected of an enabling law or valid legal instrument establishing a government body.
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head of the Civil Service of the Federation, also rejected claims that her office deployed civil servants to work for the council.
She maintained that the office did not assign personnel to the body and did not provide office accommodation for its operations.
According to her, matters relating to the creation, supervision and oversight of government agencies fall under the responsibilities of other relevant institutions, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria also provided details regarding accounts linked to the council.Nigerian current events
Hamisu Abdullahi, director at the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee, explained that the bank opened two foreign currency accounts following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He told lawmakers that the request was received on July 30, 2025, and instructed the bank to create a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi stressed that the CBN only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving official authorisation from the Accountant-General’s office.
However, he disclosed that the accounts never became operational because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for activation.
As a result, both accounts remained dormant from the day they were opened.
He informed the committee that neither account had received deposits nor processed withdrawals. The accounts also recorded no foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.Governor election news
According to him, the balances in both accounts remain at zero.
The CBN official further stated that the council did not engage directly with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts after they were created.
Following the submissions, members of the committee demanded more information as part of efforts to determine the full scope of the council’s activities.
Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, chairman of the committee, directed the Central Bank to submit comprehensive records relating to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The committee requested details covering the opening of the accounts, their operational history and any information connected to related banking activities.
Lawmakers also instructed the CBN to work with commercial banks to identify and provide records of any accounts linked to the entities under investigation.
However, the committee is expected to continue its hearings as more government agencies and officials appear before lawmakers to provide explanations on the controversial council and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
NPC Opens Nationwide Digital Birth, Death Registration Platform
FG Launches C.L.I.C.K.D., Consumer Credit Scheme for Tech Devices
Airtel Nigeria Expands Retail Footprint to Strengthen Customer Access Nationwide
Ovaloop Technologies Unveils Digital Tools to Formalize SMEs Operations Across Africa
Kaspersky Survey Highlights the Need for Smartphone Security
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
Lebara Nigeria Launches Lebara Play, Africa’s First Telecom-Owned Micro-Drama Platform
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
E-Financial3 days agoAccess Holdings Sells 7.44% Stake in Ghana Unit
E-Financial3 days agoNDIC Urges Youths to Shun Ponzi Schemes, Embrace Savings
News3 days agoAdebutu, PDP Chieftain Accuses Nigerian Governors of Embezzling LG Allocations
E-Business3 days agoSERAP to Sue NASS over Bill Empowering NDPC to Regulate Social Media
News3 days agoNIMASA Unveils Accelerator Scheme to Drive Innovation, Sustainable Growth
E-Financial3 days agoNRS Issues July 31 Deadline for e-Invoicing Compliance
News3 days agoICPC Secures Final Forfeiture of N941m Linked to IPPIS Fraud
News3 days agoeBusinessLife Advocates Greater Support for Girls in ICT as Students Showcase AI Innovations