Verification & Escrow

The banking and legal infrastructure behind every transaction.

DUNE Escrow is not crypto-escrow theater. Funds sit in a CBN-licensed Tier 1 Nigerian bank, NDIC insured, PwC audited daily, with dual-control release. Legal title work is performed by a partner law firm with operational independence from DUNE. Below is exactly how the two partnerships work.

The two partners

A bank and a law firm. Neither is a side feature. Both are core.

Many fintech platforms position banking and legal as third-party integrations. DUNE positions them as primary subsystems. The product is meaningless without them. They are named by name in every transaction confirmation.

BANKING PARTNER

Zenith Bank Plc

CBN LICENSED · NDIC INSURED · PWC AUDITED

All buyer funds for DUNE transactions route to Zenith Bank Trust Account NGN-7842. Zenith is a Tier 1 Nigerian commercial bank, CBN-licensed, NDIC-insured. The trust account is segregated from DUNE operating funds — DUNE cannot touch buyer money directly. Release requires dual-control approval: two distinct DUNE operators, distinct authenticated sessions, hardware security keys.

PwC performs annual audit of the trust account: balance reconciliation, dual-control release records, and deviation analysis. Daily internal reconciliation flags any discrepancy within 15 minutes. If reconciliation fails, new transactions stop until resolved.

ACCOUNT
NGN-7842
DUAL-CONTROL
≥ ₦5M
RECONCILIATION
Daily
AUDITOR
PwC
LEGAL PARTNER

O.J | Richards® + Co

PROPERTY LAW · LAGOS · TITLE REVIEW

Title review, encumbrance verification, and registry filings are performed by O.J | Richards® + Co, a Nigerian property law firm operating with structural independence from DUNE. The D3 "Legal Reviewed" badge is issued only after O.J | Richards has examined the title chain, confirmed registry status, and provided a written clean-title opinion.

For diaspora buyers, O.J | Richards typically handles end-to-end remote title transfer — Power of Attorney, registry filing, post-transfer audit — so the buyer receives a registered title without setting foot in Nigeria. Per-transaction fees are agreed in advance; DUNE retains 30% as the platform fee, the rest goes to the firm.

D3 SLA
5–10 days
REMOTE TRANSFER
Supported
DUNE SHARE
30%
INDEPENDENCE
Structural
The escrow state machine

Every transaction moves through ten states. Each transition writes to an audit log.

The escrow lifecycle is a finite state machine. Below is the canonical path for a happy-path transaction (initiated → released) plus the alternate paths (refunded, disputed). Every transition is hash-chained and tamper-evident.

INITIATED
Buyer accepts offer. Listing locks. Escrow record created with reference code.
T+0
FUNDED
Buyer wires funds to Zenith Trust Account NGN-7842. Webhook confirms credit. Buyer notified.
T+24h
INSPECTION_PENDING
Inspection window opens. Buyer (or Concierge inspector) schedules physical visit.
T+48h
INSPECTION_PASSED
Buyer confirms inspection acceptable. Certified report archived. Title transfer begins.
T+5d
TITLE_TRANSFER_PENDING
Legal partner files at registry. Tracking number issued.
T+10d
PENDING_RELEASE
Title registered in buyer's name. Operator A initiates release.
T+15d
DUAL_APPROVAL_PENDING
Operator B (distinct user, hardware key) confirms release within session window.
T+15d
RELEASED
Funds release to seller agent wallet, then bank account within 1 business day. Audit chain commits.
T+16d
DISPUTED
Buyer or seller opens dispute. Escrow freezes. Independent Dispute Officer assigned within 24h.
Branch
REFUNDED
If inspection fails or dispute resolves for buyer. Funds return to original payment source within 48 business hours.
Branch
Use cases

Escrow isn't just for outright sales.

The same state machine supports any transaction where buyer and seller need a neutral third party to hold funds against delivery. Six common patterns:

Outright sale

Full purchase price escrowed against title transfer. The flagship use case. 0.4% escrow fee.

FULL PRICE · 0.4%

Land sale

Same as outright sale but with extra survey verification. Excision and gazette checks part of the legal review.

FULL PRICE · 0.4%

Rental deposit

Tenant deposit held in escrow against move-in and lease execution. Releases on signed agreement and key handover.

DEPOSIT · 1.0% (capped)

Shortlet booking

Guest payment escrowed until 24h post check-in. Disputes route to short-form Dispute Officer SLA (48h).

BOOKING · 1.5%

Commercial lease

First-year rent escrowed against lease execution and possession. Standard commercial deposit logic applies.

FIRST YEAR · 0.4%

Joint venture milestone

Developer raises milestone-based capital. Funds release on completion of each stage with third-party engineering sign-off.

PER MILESTONE · NEGOTIATED

Document types supported

Eight title document types. All run the same forensic pipeline.

C of O
Certificate of Occupancy
Statutory title. Issued by state Governor.
Gov.C
Governor's Consent
Required for transfer of C of O land.
Deed
Deed of Assignment
Document of title transfer between parties.
Gaz
Gazette
Government publication of land allocation.
Sur
Survey Plan
Surveyor-prepared boundary documentation.
RoO
Right of Occupancy
Customary or statutory occupancy right.
Exc
Excision
State excision from government acquisition.
L.A.
Letter of Allocation
Allocation from state housing authority.