The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) are investigating claims that SportPesa has transferred an estimated $270million to an offshore bank account

The FRC has announced that they will be investigating SportPesa on possible money laundering charges. SportPesa claim that all the money earned came from online betting in Kenya.

The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) will examine the legitimacy of such earnings. There were suspicions about SportPesa’s activity after a bank transfer worth an estimated Sh30BN ($270million) was moved to an offshore bank account. Therefore, the FRC will investigate whether the money earned, through online gaming, were declared to the Kenyan regulator, Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB). In addition to this, the FRC will also inspect whether SportPesa actually paid taxes on the Sh30billion that was allegedly transferred to the Isle of Man, Canary Islands and Dubai over a three year period.

This investigation by the FRC will definitely add to the already strained relationship between SportPesa and their shareholders as a few weeks ago, Kenyan Moguls Paul Wanderi Ndung’u (pictured) and Asenath Wacera Maina, stated that they were not informed of the ‘Milestone deal’ which was made public by SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri. Paul Wanderi Ndung’u and Asenath Wacera Maina have a combined 38% stake in SportsPesa.

‘After persistent push, the management report indicated that within three years, Pevans has transferred over $250million (Sh27.1 billion) to various offshore accounts in Isle of Man, Dubai and Las Palmas/Canary Islands,’ Mr. Ndung’u said.

He went on to express his frustration that they have been kept in the dark saying:

‘Shareholders have also come to learn that subsequent to ceasing operations, $500,000 (Sh54.3 million) has been transferred from Pevans to SportPesa South Africa while another $17.5 million (Sh1.9billion) has been transferred to SportPesa Tanzania. We want to know who the beneficiaries of these accounts are.’

Director-General of the FRC, Saitoti Maika, decided to make this public, announcing that “this matter is of public interest, and will investigate to establish if there was criminality in the movement of the billions offshore”. 

SiGMA website adds French as its 6th language:

SiGMA Group is excited to announce the addition of a 6th language to its website. Users can now find all content, including the SiGMA News website, in French. The latest addition to SiGMA’s portfolio of languages will run alongside the recently launched Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese content, and aims to cater to SiGMA’s wide portfolio of international events.