Zacuten Technologies says it is pursuing more than $4 million owed by Plaude Technologies Limited and Plaude Inc. after a $13.07 million transaction allegedly descended into months of delayed payments, disputed transfer claims and what the company describes as a fake $2.78 million bank cheque.
The Lagos-based technology company says Plaude was expected to complete payment in March 2026 after transferring about $8.95 million of the agreed sum. But more than five months later, Zacuten says between $4.1 million and $4.2 million remains unpaid, with efforts to obtain the balance eventually met with what it described as silence from key Plaude executives.
Brandspur Brand News gathered from the release that what began as a high-value commercial transaction has become a dispute that Zacuten says could have serious implications for other businesses dealing in large cross-border payments. The company alleges that, instead of receiving the balance, it was confronted with explanations about banking restrictions and payment corridors, as well as payment documents and transfer representations that it says require further scrutiny.
At the heart of Zacuten’s complaint is a $2.78 million Banc of California cashier’s cheque dated March 6, 2026, and made payable to Plaude Inc. Zacuten says the cheque was presented in connection with the transaction as evidence of available funds. However, the company says subsequent attempts to verify the instrument with a bank representative raised questions about its authenticity.
The allegation is significant because, for a company waiting for millions of dollars, a payment document can appear to offer reassurance that funds are available and settlement is imminent. Zacuten says the cheque instead became part of the evidence it is now reviewing in connection with the disputed transaction.
Zacuten chief executive Godsreal Ojinaka says the company has repeatedly sought answers, supporting documents and a definite payment timeline. According to the release, those efforts have not produced a resolution, while Olatomiwa Adebayo Idowu, identified as Plaude’s CEO, has allegedly become increasingly difficult to reach. Zacuten says other Plaude executives have also become unavailable. Those claims are allegations by Zacuten and have not been presented in the release as established findings of fact.
Plaude, however, has publicly acknowledged the size of the transaction and the approximately $8.95 million transfer. According to Zacuten’s release, the company has attributed the failure to complete settlement to banking restrictions, enhanced due diligence, difficulties with payment corridors and other operational problems. Zacuten disputes the adequacy of those explanations, arguing that they do not amount to payment of the outstanding balance.
The dispute has taken on another dimension because Zacuten says it has found other multi-million-dollar complaints and an official investigation involving Plaude and associated individuals.
One of the cases cited is a complaint filed by Prudent Energy & Services Limited in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint concerns allegations involving about $2.75 million in an alleged foreign-exchange fraud. Zacuten acknowledges that the allegations in that case remain before the relevant legal process and do not constitute a finding of liability.
Zacuten has also pointed to a May 11, 2026 announcement by the Nigeria Police Special Fraud Unit concerning an investigation involving Plaude Technologies Limited, Omberra Commodities Limited and individuals associated with the companies.
The SFU said it had obtained a Federal High Court forfeiture order covering accounts and assets linked to the parties while its investigation continued. According to the police statement cited by Zacuten, the investigation concerned allegations involving approximately ₦8.585 billion, including conspiracy, fraudulent conversion, obtaining money by false pretence, stealing and money laundering. The SFU also raised concerns about the alleged operational and financial capacity of Plaude to meet certain obligations and representations.
For Zacuten, that development has made the unpaid $4.1 million more than a routine commercial disagreement. The company says it entered the transaction on the understanding that Plaude had the financial and operational capacity to perform its side of the deal. It is now asking whether those assumptions were justified. At the same time, Zacuten acknowledges that the SFU investigation is separate from its dispute and that the allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial process.
The company says it has also received information from other businesses and counterparties who may have experienced similar difficulties. Zacuten estimates that additional claims involving losses or unresolved obligations could exceed $15 million, separate from its own claim, although it stresses that the information has not yet been fully verified. If established, the company says the combined value of the disputed transactions could exceed $22 million.
One such allegation has surfaced publicly through an Instagram appeal by Alikofowora of Tubim Energy to Obiageli Idowu, the wife of Plaude executive Olatomiwa Adebayo Idowu. The appeal alleged that Plaude collected naira from Tubim Energy in July 2025 but failed to remit the promised dollar payment despite repeated assurances. Zacuten says the allegation resembles its own experience, although it has not independently established the claim.
For businesses, the warning from Zacuten is straightforward: large transactions cannot safely depend on assurances alone.
The company is urging prospective counterparties, investors and financial institutions to independently verify the source and availability of funds, payment instruments, banking arrangements, corporate ownership, transaction history and existing legal or commercial disputes before committing substantial sums.
Zacuten says it will continue using available commercial and legal channels to recover the outstanding money. For the company, however, the dispute is no longer simply about when a delayed payment will arrive. It is about why more than $4 million from a transaction agreed at $13.07 million remains unpaid, what happened to the payment instruments and representations made during the process, and whether other businesses may have faced similar problems.
Until those questions are answered through evidence and due process, Zacuten says the money remains outstanding.
