Nigerian fintech fraudsters jailed

A Texas court has sentenced two Nigerian founders of a fintech company to 27 months in prison for their role in sending $160m in fraudulent earnings to Nigeria through their company, Ping Express. According to a statement released by the US Department of Justice, the firm acknowledged it failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering and unlicensed money transmission programme over the past three years. The Premium Times reports that it also admitted it failed to seek sufficient information about the sources or purposes of the funds involved in the transactions. The Texas-based company's CEO, Anslem Oshionebo, and its co-founder and COO, Opeyemi Odeyale, were both handed a 27-month jail term for their involvement in the alleged crimes, according to US legal filings.