Firm Decries Moniepoint’s Seizure Of N12.65m, Petitions CBN

…Fintech says action followed regulatory rules, risk controls

A Kaduna-based communication gadget merchandising firm, Millano Communications, has raised the alarm over what it described as the unexplained and curious seizure of N12.65 million from its corporate account by a popular Fintech Company, Moniepoint Micro-Finance Bank.

The aggrieved Communications firm, which said it had already petitioned the matter to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for urgent intervention, said the funds allegedly confiscated illegally by Moniepoint were part of proceeds from a genuine business transaction it had with one of its customers that purchased telephone items and related accessories from its sales outlet on March 6, 2026.

Responding to the allegations, public and media relations manager of Moniepoint, Bemigho Awala, said the action taken on the account was in line with regulatory compliance and internal risk controls.

Awala explained that the restriction was triggered after funds were traced to a source the system flagged as suspicious.

According to the company, the total amount received from the sale of phone items was N6.86 million, which was paid into its accounts with OPay and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. However, after the transaction, the firm began experiencing difficulties operating the account, particularly with Moniepoint Micro Finance Bank. It later turned out that the bank had frozen the account.

According to Millano Communications, an attempt to make withdrawals from the said account on March 7, 2026, for business purposes was blocked by Moniepoint Micro-Finance Bank. Several efforts to access the money, including visits to the operational office of the bank, yielded no result. The company said its account officer at Moniepoint, one Emmanuel Musa, was even contacted to help determine the reason for the fund seizure and facilitate its release. His intervention led to the account being unfrozen.

However, the company said the bank placed a lien on the total sum of N12.65 million in that account shortly after.

Further attempts to draw from the account proved abortive, and since then Moniepoint Micro-Finance Bank has offered no explanation for the fund seizure.

Out of frustration at making no headway, Millano Communications, which deals primarily with high-end gadgets like iPhones, Samsung phones, Google Pixels, etc., promptly contacted its lawyer, Barrister Douglas Ekhator Esq., a principal partner at Ekhator & Ekhator Law Firm based in Abuja.

On March 23, 2026, Millano Communication’s legal representative wrote to Moniepoint Bank through its compliance Office in Wuse 2, Abuja, demanding the immediate release of his client’s money. Even promises by the same account officer that the issue would be resolved proved futile, as the funds are still being withheld. The company, however, is worried that this development has locked down its business and is seriously affecting its operations.

However, in a petition by Millano Communication’s lawyer addressed to the director, Consumer Protection Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and dated Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Barrister Douglas Ekhator Esq, on behalf of his client (Millano Communications), urged the apex bank to “call Moniepoint Micro Finance Bank to order and order the immediate release of our client’s money, N12.65 million”.

Millano’s Counsel told the CBN that further investigation, from the dashboard of the Moniepoint Bank account, had shown that the reason for the frozen account was due to “money that was paid into our client’s account, from a suspicious account, by a customer. This is no doubt a lame excuse, as we have forwarded to the bank all the evidence to prove that the transaction was a normal buying and selling routine transaction between a seller and buyer”.

The lawyer explained that “our client does not have the power, and is not obligated under the law to investigate or question the legality or otherwise of his numerous customers’ sources of money after every business transaction. The seizure of our client’s money is particularly curious and legally doubtful as it was done without a court order by Moniepoint Micro Finance”.

Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, Moniepoint’s Awala said, “the restriction on the account followed the receipt of funds traced to a customer account that had been flagged as suspicious within the financial system.”

He further noted that such measures are standard procedure aimed at preventing fraudulent transactions, money laundering, and protecting the integrity of the financial ecosystem.

He added that accounts under such review are subject to due diligence processes in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidelines and assured that appropriate action would be taken upon the conclusion of investigations. Hence, they should wait rather than go to the press.