The Executives of a United States fintech company, Ping Express, have pleaded guilty to breaching money laundering rules after sending $167 million to Africa unchecked in less than 3 years. Out of this total amount suspected to have been laundered, $160 million was sent to Nigeria.
According to a statement from the U.S Department of Justice, the company admitted it failed to seek sufficient details about the sources or purposes of the funds involved in the transactions, or the customers initiating the transmissions. Part of the money sent to Nigeria was also suspected to be proceeds of internet fraud.
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The DOJ disclosed that Ping CEO Anslem Oshionebo and its COO Opeyemi Odeyale pleaded guilty to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Ping’s IT/ Business Development Manager, Aleoghena Okhumale, was said to have also pleaded guilty to knowingly transmitting illegally-derived funds.
The CEO and COO were recently each sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, while the IT/Business Development Manager received a prison sentence of 42 months.
Ping Express, the company, now faces five years of probation and a fine of up to $500,000. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 19, 2022.
Source: Nairametrics
