At the just concluded Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) Plenary meeting held between the 22nd and 24th of October 2025, Nigeria, alongside other African nations Burkina Faso, Mozambique and South Africa was removed from the FATF Grey list- list of jurisdictions which had been placed under increased monitoring to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing (“AML/CFT/CPF”), and which had required an application of the prescribed risk-based approach in other nation's financial and business dealings with Nigeria.
The plenary congratulated Nigeria for the positive progress made in addressing its strategic AML/CFT/CPF deficiencies which had led to Nigeria being placed on the FATF Grey list in February 2023, and also commended Nigeria for completing the Action Plan within agreed timeframes.
Key reforms taken by Nigeria to address the identified deficiencies include the enactment and enforcement of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 as well as other sector AML/CFT/CPF regulations, the operationalisation of the Beneficial Ownership Register, increased international cooperation and cross-border intelligence exchange with regional and global partners; and improved supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions.
The removal of Nigeria from the FATF Grey List is a testament to the efforts taken to address the deficiencies identified and a significant step forward for Nigeria's compliance with global financial integrity standards.
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