Despite the fact that fintech startup, Flutterwave is still reeling from the effect of over N2 billion naira illegally transferred by hackers from its account, its co-founder and CEO, Olugbenga Agboola seems unperturbed and has gone on to make a significant purchase in the luxury real estate market. Agboola bought a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom house in Miami Beach for $7.1 million. The property was previously owned by the Boschetti Group, a real estate development firm that purchased the plot for $1.2 million in 2021 and built the home last year.
Although Flutterwave denies that its account was hacked, there are reports that it obtained an ex-parte order freezing up to 1000 bank accounts of its customers in the wake of financial loss as a result of the hack. Flutterwave does have a history of serious consumer data breaches and data protection gaffes. Only recently the fintech company faced regulatory obstacles in Kenya, its second-largest market after Nigeria after the country’s central bank ordered local banks to sever ties with it in July 2022, citing the company’s lack of licensing and frozen accounts due to anti-money laundering laws.
The company was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. Founded in 2016 with the goal of improving the payments infrastructure for banks and global businesses, Flutterwave has since raised $474.5 million in funding and achieved a valuation of $3 billion. Agboola’s contributions to technological advancement were recently recognised when he received the Nigerian National Honour Medal of the Officer of the Order of Niger in October 2022.
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