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.
Accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption could increase Africa’s GDP by up to 4% over the next decade, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a report released on Tuesday, titled Africa Can Grow Faster With AI—If It Moves Now, economists from the IMF’s Africa Department say current levels of AI adoption and utilisation are expected to contribute just 0.2% to the region’s GDP over the next 10 years.
However, the report says stronger adoption, supported by the right infrastructure and policies, could raise the economic impact to about 4% by extending AI beyond today’s digitally connected firms.
Martin Schindler and other IMF economists say: “AI adoption in sub-Saharan Africa currently lags well behind every other region. If richer economies race ahead while African firms and governments lag, the productivity gap between the region and the rest of the world will only widen.”
Early signs of AI adoption are emerging across Africa, with countries including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria developing AI strategies.
Telecommunications operators, including Vodacom, Econet, Africell and MTN, are also integrating AI into their operations and networks.
Other examples include chatbots supporting teaching and learning in Nigeria and the South African Revenue Service’s use of data analytics for targeted tax audits.
However, the IMF says AI adoption must extend beyond these early use cases to deliver meaningful economic benefits.
“For the region, AI’s main promise is not about replacing office workers, but boosting productivity across the economy—helping informal firms manage inventory, enabling farmers to increase yields, and supporting mid-sized firms to transition to formality and export readiness,” the report reads.
The IMF is urging governments to prioritise investment in reliable electricity, affordable broadband, data infrastructure and digital skills to support wider AI adoption.
Many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, continue to face electricity shortages, while broadband services remain costly and coverage is uneven.
The Fund believes stronger investment in power, connectivity, regional data infrastructure and digital skills would help unlock AI’s economic potential.
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.
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