A week after allegations of insider trading, fraud, and sexual harassment were levied against him, Flutterwave’s CEO Olugbenga Agboola, on Tuesday evening, addressed the company’s employees.
TechCrunch quotes the Flutterwave CEO as writing, in an internal email , “The fact that the allegations of financial impropriety, conflict of interest and sexual harassment have been proved false or have already been reported, investigated and addressed by management matters less to me than the reality that these claims may have shaken your confidence in the company. As founder and CEO, it is my responsibility to address the concerns you may have, and this will be a priority for me moving forward.”
What did the CEO say?
Agboola responded to a few of many allegations.
On the allegation that he retained his employment at Access Bank while building Flutterwave, he said, “The allegations about how I started the company are untrue. I shared with you during the retreat that a former boss helped us close one of our enterprise clients. I am thankful for the learning and mentorship I received at the numerous employers I worked at before starting Flutterwave.”
The CEO also corroborated Iyin Aboyeji’s explanation of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) investigation into Flutterwave. While the initial allegation was that the SEC was investigating Flutterwave for insider trading, Aboyeji—and now, Agboola—claim that the SEC’s involvement into Flutterwave was to highlight which of Flutterwave’s 85 investors at the time were not qualified to be investors under US laws.
What did he not say?
One of the allegations levied against Agboola concerned the creation of a fictitious co-founder and CTO, “Greg”, whom Iyin Aboyeji—in his interview with TechCabal—claimed he never met.
In his email to Flutterwave’s employees, TechCrunch notes that Agboola makes no mention of this particular allegation. The CEO also did not address the initial allegations that Flutterwave had been involved in some fraudulent transactions against clients like Arik Airways, and Access Bank.
Flutterwave is putting new measures in place
It does appear, however, that Flutterwave management is taking steps to ensure employee safety.
Agboola’s email stated that the company will focus on “improving its HR policies while working closely with audit and advisory firms, taking a survey of employees—particularly female employees—to get feedback on their experiences in the company”, embarking on “inclusive workplace training, increasing mental health resources, and providing more transparency”.
