Zacuten Technologies says it was defrauded in $13.07 million transaction, cites SFU investigation, Federal High Court forfeiture order and other multi-million-dollar claims involving Plaude

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Company says more than $4 million remains unpaid and calls for scrutiny of what it describes as an emerging pattern of high-value transactions, disputed payment representations, delays and non-payment

Zacuten Technologies says it is the victim of a multi-million-dollar cross-border transaction that has left the company with an outstanding balance of more than $4 million and a growing list of unanswered questions about the financial capacity, representations and conduct of Plaude Technologies Limited, Plaude Inc. and individuals associated with the companies.

The transaction was valued at approximately $13.07 million. Plaude has publicly stated that approximately $8.95 million was transferred. Zacuten says the remaining balance—approximately $4.1 million to $4.2 million—has not been paid. For Zacuten, that is the central issue. Not the threats of legal action against media organisations. Not the competing statements that have followed the publication of investigative reports.

The company is now drawing attention to what it believes may be a broader pattern involving high-value transactions, representations regarding available funds, prolonged delays, non-payment and subsequent unresponsiveness. At the centre of Zacuten’s complaint is Olatomiwa Adebayo Idowu, the CEO of Plaude, who Zacuten claims has been incommunicado and has failed to meaningfully engage in efforts to resolve the outstanding obligation—engaging only partially through fake cheques, fake telexes and wire fraud.

The company says Olatomiwa Adebayo Idowu, an executive associated with Plaude and currently based in the United States at 307 N Almont Dr, Beverly Hills CA 90211, his last known address, has become increasingly difficult to reach and has failed to meaningfully engage with efforts to resolve the obligation. Other Plaude executive team members, ⁠Dayo Osikoya, Plaude co-founder; Onyeka Akumah, Plaude’s Chief Commercial Officer; Oladipupo Ojo, Country Director Plaude; Oladotun Steve Idowu and Olatomiwa Dad have all absconded

Zacuten says Idowu has remained incommunicado despite the outstanding multi-million-dollar obligation. “This is not a misunderstanding and it is not a media dispute,” said Godsreal Ojinaka, CEO of Zacuten Technologies. “Zacuten entered into a transaction worth more than $13 million. Millions of dollars remain outstanding. We have asked for answers, documentation and a timeline for payment. The fundamental question remains: where is Zacuten’s money, and when will it be paid?”

While a petition has been submitted, Plaude has publicly acknowledged that the transaction was valued at approximately $13.07 million and that approximately $8.95 million was transferred. Plaude has attributed the failure to complete settlement to banking restrictions, enhanced due diligence, payment-corridor difficulties and other operational challenges, but this has been since March this year.

Zacuten says these explanations do not resolve the outstanding obligation. The company is seeking a complete accounting of the transaction, independent verification of funds allegedly transferred, documentary evidence supporting the explanations provided for the non-settlement and an immediate, verifiable plan for payment of the outstanding balance. “A delay is not payment. An explanation is not payment. A public statement is not payment,” Ojinaka said. “The obligation remains unresolved.”

Zacuten further says that a Banc of California cashier’s cheque numbered 1874649, dated March 6, 2026, for $2,780,208 and made payable to Plaude Inc., was presented in connection with the transaction as evidence of available funds. Zacuten says subsequent efforts to verify the instrument with a bank representative raised serious questions about its legitimacy. The company says the instrument and the circumstances surrounding it form part of the documentation it is reviewing and may be relevant to appropriate legal, financial and regulatory authorities.

The fake Banc of California cashier’s cheque numbered 1874649, dated March 6, 2026, for $2,780,208 and made payable to Plaude Inc.

Zacuten says its concerns have grown following the emergence of other high-value complaints and investigations involving Plaude and individuals associated with the company. In a separate matter, Prudent Energy & Services Limited filed a complaint against Plaude Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California concerning allegations involving approximately $2.75 million in an alleged foreign-exchange fraud.

The complaint and its allegations have not been presented by Zacuten as a finding of liability. The claims remain subject to the relevant legal process. However, Zacuten says the existence of another high-value dispute involving Plaude Inc. raises legitimate questions when viewed alongside its own experience.

“We initially treated this as a transaction that had encountered difficulties,” Ojinaka said. “But when you begin to see other multi-million-dollar complaints and official investigations involving the same corporate network and individuals, it becomes necessary to ask whether Zacuten’s experience was truly an isolated incident.”

Zacuten said its concerns are further reinforced by an official announcement issued by the Police Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police concerning a separate investigation involving Plaude Technologies Limited and individuals associated with the company.

In a statement issued on May 11, 2026, the Special Fraud Unit announced that it had secured a Federal High Court forfeiture order over accounts and assets linked to Plaude Technologies Limited, Omberra Commodities Limited and individuals named in the investigation, pending the conclusion of its investigation.

The SFU said the matter involved allegations relating to approximately ₦8.585 billion and included allegations of conspiracy, fraudulent conversion, obtaining money by false pretence, stealing and money laundering. According to the SFU’s public statement, its investigation also raised serious concerns regarding the company’s operational and financial capacity.

The Special Fraud Unit stated that its investigation found that Plaude Technologies Limited allegedly lacked the operational and financial capacity to fulfil certain claimed obligations and representations made to investors and business partners.

For Zacuten, that finding is particularly significant. The company says that its own transaction was entered into on the understanding that Plaude had the financial and operational capacity to perform its obligations. Instead, Zacuten says it is now pursuing more than $4 million that remains unpaid.

“That is why the SFU’s public statement is relevant to Zacuten’s experience,” Ojinaka said. “The question we are now forced to ask is whether the financial capacity and representations that formed the basis of our transaction were capable of supporting an obligation of this size.” “We are not asking anyone to substitute public opinion for due process. The SFU investigation is separate, and the allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial process. But an official investigation resulting in a Federal High Court forfeiture order and findings concerning the company’s alleged financial and operational capacity cannot simply be ignored.”

Zacuten said the SFU announcement, its own unresolved transaction and the separate $2.75 million complaint involving Prudent Energy & Services Limited together create a body of circumstances that warrant serious examination by regulators, financial institutions, investors and prospective business partners.

Zacuten says that since the transaction became disputed, the focus has recently shifted towards explanations, public statements and disputes over media coverage. The company says none of those developments changes the underlying commercial reality – Zacuten says it is still owed millions of dollars.

The company noted that TechNext became involved after publishing an investigative report concerning the matter and subsequently became the subject of legal threats and demands for a takedown. “Whether Plaude agrees with TechNext’s reporting is a separate matter,” Ojinaka said. “TechNext did not create the outstanding balance. The media did not create the transaction. The money was either paid or it was not. Zacuten’s position is clear: the outstanding balance has not been settled.” “You cannot litigate your way out of a debt. You cannot issue statements that replace payment. And you cannot allow delay to become the defence.”

Additionally, Zacuten says it has received information suggesting that other businesses and counterparties may have experienced similar difficulties in transactions involving Plaude or individuals associated with the company. The company said some affected parties have not yet authorised the public disclosure of their identities or the details of their transactions. Based on information currently available to Zacuten, the company is aware of additional claims involving losses or unresolved obligations running into more than $15 million, separate from Zacuten’s own outstanding claim. Zacuten says the information remains subject to further verification and documentation. If verified, the combined value of transactions and claims involving Zacuten and other affected counterparties could exceed $22 million.

Zacuten said it would not publish the names of additional parties until it has obtained sufficient documentary evidence and authority to do so. “There are businesses that have information and experiences that may be relevant to understanding what happened here,” Ojinaka said. “Some are not yet prepared to speak publicly. That is their decision. But Zacuten will continue to document its own experience and provide information ”

Zacuten also pointed to a public Instagram appeal by Alikofowora of Tubim Energy to Obiageli Idowu, wife of Plaude executive Olatomiwa Adebayo Idowu, alleging that Plaude collected naira from the company in July 2025 but failed to remit the promised dollars despite repeated assurances, leaving Tubim Energy in severe financial distress; Zacuten said the allegation mirrors its own experience of delayed payment and raises further questions about whether other businesses have faced similar unresolved obligations.

Instagram appeal by Alikofowora of Tubim Energy

Zacuten is now urging companies, investors, financial institutions and other stakeholders considering significant transactions with Plaude Technologies Limited, Plaude Inc. or their executives to conduct enhanced due diligence before committing funds or entering into major commercial relationships.

The company recommends independent verification of:

• Counterparty financial capacity and transaction history;
• The source and actual availability of funds;
• Banking arrangements and payment instruments;
• The legitimacy and independent verification of financial documentation;
• The ability to complete significant cross-border transactions;
• Existing commercial disputes and outstanding obligations;
• Regulatory and legal issues;
• Corporate and beneficial ownership structures; and
• Documentary evidence supporting material representations made during negotiations.

“Our experience demonstrates why businesses cannot rely solely on representations when substantial sums are involved,” Ojinaka said. “Financial capacity must be independently verified. Payment instruments must be independently verified. The ability to perform must be independently verified.” “Due diligence should happen before millions of dollars are committed—not after a company finds itself trying to recover money that should have been paid.”

Zacuten said it remains willing to pursue all appropriate commercial and legal channels available to recover the outstanding funds. The company also called on media organisations reporting on the matter to exercise due diligence and distinguish between verified financial records, statements made by the parties, allegations contained in legal proceedings and claims that remain subject to investigation.

Zacuten said media organisations should independently verify information and supporting documentation before publishing or repeating claims from any party. “We are not afraid of scrutiny,” Ojinaka said. “We welcome scrutiny because scrutiny leads back to the same question: what happened to the money?”

“Zacuten’s position is straightforward. A transaction was entered into. Money remains outstanding. The person responsible for resolving the obligation has been largely unresponsive. There are now other multi-million-dollar complaints and an official SFU investigation that resulted in a Federal High Court forfeiture order involving Plaude-linked accounts and assets.”

“This is no longer simply about a delayed transaction,” Ojinaka said. “For Zacuten, this is about recovering millions of dollars that remain unpaid and establishing whether our experience forms part of a wider pattern that other businesses need to understand before they commit their money to Plaude.”