Zacuten Technologies has urged Nigeria to strengthen financial-crime safeguards as businesses increasingly move millions of dollars across borders.
The Chief Executive Officer of Zacuten Technologies, Mr Godsreal Ojinaka, made the call in an article made available to reporters on Tuesday in Lagos.
Ojinaka said faster cross-border payments must be matched by stronger transaction monitoring, due diligence, financial intelligence and mechanisms for tracing and recovering disputed funds.
He said Nigeria’s growing digital economy had expanded international commerce, but businesses could face significant risks when high-value transactions involving multiple jurisdictions went wrong.
Ojinaka cited Zacuten’s experience in a disputed 2026 cross-border transaction valued at about $13.07 million involving Plaude Technologies Ltd. and Plaude Inc.
He said the experience highlighted the need for businesses to independently verify financial capacity and documentation before committing substantial funds to cross-border transactions.
According to him, companies should scrutinise counterparties’ funding sources, payment instruments, banking arrangements, ownership structures, transaction history and ability to execute proposed transactions.
The Zacuten boss said financial documentation presented during a transaction should not automatically be treated as evidence that funds were available.
“A financial document is not the same thing as available money. A promise to pay is not payment,” Ojinaka said.
He said Zacuten received financial documentation during the transaction that was presented as evidence of available funds, but later sought independent verification.
Ojinaka said the company subsequently raised concerns about the legitimacy of one payment instrument and the availability of the funds it purportedly represented.
He said the experience demonstrated how accountability could become fragmented when transactions involved several companies, financial institutions and jurisdictions.
According to him, by the time businesses discover potential problems, funds may have passed through several financial channels, making recovery significantly more complicated.
Ojinaka urged banks and fintech companies to strengthen systems for identifying unusual transaction patterns, documentation inconsistencies and activities requiring enhanced financial scrutiny.
He also called for specialised financial-intelligence capabilities to enable law enforcement agencies to trace complex financial transactions across jurisdictions more effectively.
The CEO urged regulators and financial institutions to improve information-sharing while maintaining appropriate safeguards for privacy, confidentiality and due process.
“Money can move extremely quickly in cross-border digital transactions. Investigations should be capable of responding quickly enough to preserve evidence and trace funds,” he said.
Ojinaka said early intervention could also help identify relevant counterparties and, where legally permissible, prevent further movement or dissipation of disputed assets.
He stressed, however, that allegations of financial wrongdoing must be established through evidence and appropriate legal processes.
“Businesses that believe they have been defrauded deserve to be heard and protected, but allegations must still be tested through evidence and due process,” Ojinaka said.
He said businesses also needed clearer channels for reporting suspected financial crime, preserving evidence and understanding the processes available for pursuing recovery or redress.
Ojinaka said victims of cross-border financial disputes often faced difficulties determining the appropriate authority or jurisdiction responsible for assisting with recovery efforts.
“Nigeria needs mechanisms that enable affected businesses to access financial-intelligence channels and coordinate effectively with local and foreign institutions,” he said.
Ojinaka described trust as an important part of financial infrastructure, saying international businesses needed confidence that transactions could be conducted securely.
He said investors and businesses would also consider whether credible systems existed to trace money and pursue recovery when transactions went wrong.
“Nigeria cannot build a globally competitive digital economy while allowing unresolved cross-border financial disputes to erode confidence in the system,” Ojinaka said.
He called for better transaction monitoring, stronger counterparty due diligence, faster financial-intelligence sharing, specialised investigations and clearer recovery mechanisms.
“The more money that moves across borders, the more sophisticated our ability to protect that money must become,” Ojinaka said.
He said Africa’s digital economy was advancing rapidly and financial-crime prevention and response systems needed to develop at a corresponding pace.
