Popular mobile money operator, OPay Digital Services Limited, has incurred nearly ₦946 million in regulatory fines over alleged money laundering, terrorism financing and other compliance breaches involving several Nigerian regulatory authorities.
The penalties, disclosed in the company’s audited financial statements, cover multiple violations recorded between 2023 and 2025, raising questions about its regulatory compliance, internal controls and corporate governance.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accounted for the bulk of the sanctions, with other penalties imposed by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Under the CBN’s regulatory framework, OPay was sanctioned for violations involving the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations, customer due diligence requirements and consumer protection rules.
MILLIONS IN FINES OVER MONEY LAUNDERING
A breakdown of the disclosed penalties showed that OPay paid ₦26 million to the CBN in 2023 over money laundering and terrorism financing violations.
The company reportedly suffered another major sanction of ₦113.7 million in 2024 over recurring breaches of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations.
Other penalties included ₦197 million for violations of BOFIA 2020, ₦10 million for lapses in customer due diligence and ₦2 million over breaches of consumer protection regulations.
The NDPC also imposed a ₦125 million fine on the fintech company for violations of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
ARCON slammed the company with a ₦7 million penalty over advertising regulatory breaches, while the CAC imposed another ₦1 million fine for violations of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
In 2025, OPay paid a whopping ₦464 million to the CBN for breaching the Framework for Mobile Money Services in Nigeria 2021.
The repeated sanctions have drawn attention to the compliance challenges confronting the fintech operator, particularly in areas involving customer verification, financial crime prevention, consumer protection and the handling of customers’ personal information.
IPO DREAM SUFFERS SETBACK
The regulatory troubles come amid OPay’s recent decision to withdraw its proposed initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company had planned to raise $304 million through the sale of 16 million American Depositary Shares at $19 each, targeting a valuation of about $4 billion.
However, on October 30, 2026, OPay announced that it had reached a mutual agreement with its underwriters to terminate the proposed offering following a regulatory inquiry in an undisclosed foreign jurisdiction.
The withdrawal came barely a day after the company signed its underwriting agreement.
The development represents a setback for OPay’s international fundraising ambitions, coming against the backdrop of mounting questions over its regulatory compliance.
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