KudiWave Accuses PalmPay of Illegally Transferring ₦750m From Its Account, Alleges ₦50m Police Bribe Demand

KudiWave Technologies Limited has challenged a ₦750.37 million debit from its account with PalmPay Limited and accused the police of demanding a ₦50 million bribe to remove a restriction placed on its account.

The technology company also questioned where the money was transferred to and the court order PalmPay relied on to carry out the transaction.

KudiWave said the transaction, worth ₦750,369,439.04, appeared on its account on July 15, 2026, with the description “Judicial Adjustment.” The company said the transaction was carried out without its approval or prior notice.

According to KudiWave, PalmPay said the transaction was based on an order issued by the Federal High Court in Lagos on June 29, 2026, in a case involving the Inspector-General of Police.

However, KudiWave said the same court order was later set aside and cancelled by the court on July 22, 2026, after the company challenged how the order was obtained.

The case started from an investigation by the Police Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos. The police had earlier obtained an order placing a 90-day Post-No-Debit restriction on the accounts of several parties, including KudiWave.

KudiWave said it later found out that the police had filed another case seeking an order over money in its PalmPay account.

The application was heard by Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala of the Federal High Court on June 29, and the court granted the order requested by the police.

KudiWave later filed an application on July 3 asking the court to cancel the order and stop its enforcement. The company argued that it was not properly served with the court papers that led to the June 29 order.

The company said PalmPay and the police were served with the application before it was heard on July 13.

KudiWave said the court reserved its ruling after the hearing. However, two days later, on July 15, the ₦750.37 million was taken from its account.

The Federal High Court later ruled in favour of KudiWave on July 22, setting aside the June 29 order and directing that the restrictions on the company’s account be removed.

The court also looked at how the earlier court papers were served on KudiWave and whether the company had been properly informed about the case.

KudiWave said the court found merit in its argument and cancelled the earlier order.

The July 22 ruling did not stop the police from continuing any criminal investigation or case where there was evidence of an offence. However, it removed the June 29 order which had been used as the basis for the dispute over KudiWave’s account.

KudiWave is now questioning whether the ₦750.37 million transfer made on July 15 was carried out according to the exact terms of the earlier court order.

The company also said records from the account raised questions about other movements involving the money during the restriction period.

KudiWave said PalmPay transferred the money on July 11 and returned it to the account later that same day before another transfer was made on July 15.

The company said these transactions happened while the account was under restriction and that it only became aware of them after the account was reopened.

According to KudiWave, the June 29 court order directed that the identified funds be transferred to a Police Recovery Account or an account linked to the Police Special Fraud Unit.

However, the company alleged that records available to it showed that the ₦750.37 million was instead transferred to a business account with Access Bank.

KudiWave said this has raised questions about who received the money and what authority was used to transfer it.

The company is asking PalmPay to provide details of the account that received the money, the identity of the beneficiary, the instruction used to authorise the transaction and the exact part of the court order that allowed the transfer.

KudiWave is also asking PalmPay to explain when it received the relevant court papers and why the transfer was made after the financial institution had, according to the company, been informed about the application challenging the June 29 order.

KudiWave said it is not against financial institutions following valid court orders. Instead, it wants to know whether the transaction on its account followed the exact terms of the court order PalmPay relied on.

The company also alleged that while trying to resolve the restriction on its account, its Company Secretary, Prince Oko, met with officers of the Police Special Fraud Unit.

According to KudiWave, the officers allegedly demanded ₦50 million to help remove the restriction from the account.

The company said it rejected the alleged demand.

The allegation has not been proven in court.

KudiWave said it is considering further legal and regulatory action over the transaction. It is also seeking the recovery of the money and a full explanation of how the ₦750.37 million moved from its account.

The dispute could also raise questions about how financial institutions handle court orders affecting customers’ money, especially when such orders are being challenged in court.

PalmPay, in response, rejected KudiWave’s allegations and said it did not unlawfully debit the company’s account.

PalmPay maintained that the transaction was carried out based on a valid order of the Federal High Court.

However, KudiWave insists that PalmPay must clearly explain the transaction, especially why the destination of the money in its records allegedly differs from the account mentioned in the court proceedings.