From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigeria has made significant strides in its fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, achieving upgrades on five key recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This progress was highlighted during the 42nd GIABA Technical Commission and Plenary Meeting held from 17 to 23 November 2024 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Nigeria was placed on the FATF “grey list” on 24 February 2023, alongside South Africa. This designation signifies increased monitoring due to identified deficiencies in the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) frameworks. The FATF’s decision was influenced by concerns over rising capital inflows and inadequate measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
The grey listing requires Nigeria to implement a comprehensive Action Plan to address these strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes. Since its inclusion, Nigeria has actively worked to enhance its regulatory framework, submitting multiple progress reports to demonstrate improvements. As of October 2024, Nigeria has completed approximately 30% of the required actions and is on track to exit the grey list by May 2025, according to the CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Abubakar Bakari.
Currently, Nigeria is compliant or largely compliant with 37 out of the 40 FATF recommendations.
Leading the Nigerian delegation to Sierra Leone, Bakari, who is also Chair of the Technical Commission, expressed optimism about Nigeria’s compliance efforts. “Through the concerted efforts of all public and private sector stakeholders involved in our financial integrity systems, we have successfully upgraded our status on critical recommendations,” she stated.
The upgraded recommendations include measures related to beneficial ownership transparency and regulation of designated non-financial businesses and professionals (DNFBPs). Notably, Nigeria’s rating improved from partially compliant to largely compliant in five areas:
Recommendation 23: Other measures relevant to designated non-financial businesses and professionals.
Recommendation 24: Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons.
Recommendation 25: Legal arrangements.
Recommendation 28: Regulation and supervision of DNFBPs.
Recommendation 32: Cash couriers.
Bakari stressed the importance of continued collaboration among stakeholders, saying:
“We are confident that with sustained effort under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and key ministers, we will complete all remaining actions before our deadline in May 2025.”
The FATF and GIABA have commended Nigeria’s proactive measures, reinforcing its commitment to combating financial crimes and enhancing international cooperation.
The Nigerian delegation included representatives from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Ministry of Justice (FMOJ), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).