Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Nigeria from its grey list—a classification for countries with weaknesses in their systems for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
Gatekeepers News reports that this was announced on Friday at the close of FATF plenary meeting in Paris. Other African nations removed from the list include South Africa, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso.
According to FATF, the countries demonstrated significant progress in strengthening their financial oversight systems.
The organisation noted that Nigeria improved its inter-agency coordination; South Africa enhanced its mechanisms for detecting illicit financial activities; Mozambique boosted intelligence sharing; and Burkina Faso reinforced supervision of financial institutions and key intermediaries.
The FATF conducts regular assessments of countries to determine their compliance with international standards on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Nigeria had been placed on the greylist in 2023.
A Nigerian delegation including Lateef Fagbemi, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior; and Hafsat Bakari, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)—was present during the announcement of the country’s removal.
In a statement following the decision, NFIU explained that Nigeria fulfilled a 19-point action plan jointly developed with the FATF and the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
The agency said these reforms were implemented over the past two years to strengthen compliance and restore international confidence in Nigeria’s financial system.
