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0 News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://newsghana.com.gh/genghis-capital-accuses-safaricom-of-business-fraud-over-rival-fund-ziidi-launch/
Genghis Capital, a Kenyan investment bank, has accused Safaricom of “business fraud” following the launch of the telco’s competing money market fund, Ziidi, in November 2024.
The dispute stems from Safaricom’s alleged decision to delay the rollout of Mali, a fund created in partnership with Genghis in 2020, while registering the rival Ziidi product, which was approved by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on November 27.
In a letter dated December 3, 2024, and seen by TechCabal, Genghis Capital accused Safaricom of breaching their 2019 partnership agreement, claiming that the telco’s actions amounted to fraudulent business conduct. Genghis asserted that Safaricom deliberately stalled the Mali fund’s rollout in favor of developing Ziidi with other third-party collaborators, which they contend violates the spirit of the initial deal.
Safaricom responded to the allegations on December 6, defending its actions by citing technical issues with the Mali platform. The company argued that launching a larger fund with such challenges could expose both Safaricom and Genghis to reputational damage and potential regulatory and legal risks.
Additionally, Genghis Capital has accused Safaricom of breaching privacy laws. The bank claims that Safaricom has been migrating customers from the Mali fund to Ziidi through the M-Pesa app without customer consent, a move it argues violates data protection regulations.
As of September 2024, the CMA ranked Mali as the seventeenth-largest collective investment scheme in Kenya, with assets totaling $23.9 million. The fund generated $89,748 in revenue for Safaricom in the first half of 2024.
The dispute underscores the intensifying competition in Kenya’s wealth management and digital finance sectors as Safaricom looks to expand its investment offerings through its M-Pesa platform.
News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://newsghana.com.gh/genghis-capital-accuses-safaricom-of-business-fraud-over-rival-fund-ziidi-launch/
