Flutterwave Reaches $3b Valuation, Russia Allegedly Receives 74% of Ransomware Revenue, Australian State to Force Amazon to Pay Minimum Wage to Freelance Drivers

Africa

MTN to transition into a tech company

MTN has unveiled its new logo as part of plans to transition from a telecommunications company to a purely tech firm. The company will do a brand refresh at the end of February 2022.

Earnipay raises $4m in seed funding

Earnipay has raised up to $4 million in seed funding to provide on-demand salary to workers across Africa. Earnipay offers workers the opportunity to access their salaries on-demand by streamlining its technology with employer payroll systems.

Flutterwave raises $250m in Series D funding

Flutterwave announced that it has successfully completed a $250 million Series D funding round to raise its valuation to $3 billion. Flutterwave’s latest investors include B Capital Group, Lux Capital, among others.

Europe

HMRC seizes NFT in fraud case

UKs tax authority has confiscated three NFTs as part of a VAT fraud case involving over 200 alleged companies. It said three person trying to defraud HM Royal and Customs had been arrested in the probe.

Russia allegedly receives 74% of ransomware revenue

Researchers claim over 70% of ransomware revenue went to Russia-linked cyber-criminals. This represented up to $400 million in cryptocurrency. A huge amount of crypto-based money laundering is said to pass through Russian affiliates too.

Norfolk County Council is suing Apple

The Norfolk County Council has brought a class-action lawsuit against Apple over a 2018 incident. The Council, which runs a billion pound pension scheme claims Apple misled shareholders over its business performance in China, causing the scheme to lose money.

The Americas

Google to improve privacy on Android apps

Google is looking to improve privacy on all Android apps listed on the Play Store, the BBC has reported. The move, also extending to Google Chrome, will limit how much data advertisers can gather on users across sites and apps.

Twitter extends crackdown on hate and trolling

Twitter has announced plans to extend its Safety Mode feature to block trolls and users who spew hateful remarks for a number of days. Safety Mode will also flag recurrent offenders and automatically block them for seven days.

Amazon will now accept Visa cards worldwide

Amazon has struck a deal to accept Visa credit cards in all its stores worldwide. This agreement comes almost a year after Amazon threatened to stop accepting Visa cards in the UK over high fees.

Asia

Australian state orders Amazon to pay minimum wage to drivers

Australia’s New South Wales has ordered Amazon to pay minimum wage to all freelance drivers in a landmark case, it has been reported. This means these drivers will receive a minimum of A$37.80 as the new structure is phased in over the next three years.

Tesla changes ad in S Korea after probe in battery claim

Tesla has changed its Model 3 advertisement in South Korea after an antitrust regulator claimed its battery specifications were exaggerated. The company was forced to amend its battery range from “more than 528km” to a “maximum of 528km” on a single charge.

Tencent and Alibaba sites added to US notorious markets list

E-commerce sites operated by Tencent and Alibaba have been added to a US ‘notorious markets’ list. The list includes up to 42 online markets that facilitate the sale of counterfeited product.