ABUJA, Nigeria has officially been removed from the Financial Action Task Force\u2019s (FATF) grey list, marking a significant milestone in the country\u2019s long-running effort to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing systems, authorities announced Saturday.
The Paris-based FATF, which monitors global standards for combating illicit financial flows, confirmed the decision after its October plenary meeting, citing Nigeria\u2019s \u201csubstantial progress\u201d in addressing deficiencies identified in its 2021 evaluation.
The exit effectively lifts years of heightened scrutiny that had deterred foreign investment, complicated cross-border banking, and hurt Nigeria\u2019s financial reputation among international partners. Economists and diplomats hailed the move as a crucial step toward restoring investor confidence in Africa\u2019s largest economy.
President Bola Tinubu praised the development, calling it \u201ca vindication of Nigeria\u2019s commitment to transparency, accountability, and global cooperation.\u201d In a statement issued by the presidency, Tinubu said his administration would \u201cconsolidate on these gains to ensure that our financial institutions remain models of integrity in Africa.\u201d
The FATF had placed Nigeria on its grey list in 2021, citing weak oversight of nonbank financial sectors, poor enforcement of existing anti-laundering laws, and limited interagency coordination. That classification placed the country under increased monitoring, alongside jurisdictions such as South Africa and the Philippines.
Nigeria\u2019s removal follows two years of reforms spearheaded by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Central Bank, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). These included the tightening of customer due diligence rules, enhanced reporting requirements for politically exposed persons, and the prosecution of high-profile financial crimes.
\u201cThe FATF\u2019s decision reflects Nigeria\u2019s dedication to strengthening its compliance framework,\u201d said NFIU Director Modibbo Tukur. \u201cThis outcome demonstrates that consistent policy direction, institutional collaboration, and international engagement can yield measurable results.\u201d
Experts say the delisting will ease restrictions for Nigerian banks seeking correspondent relationships with global financial institutions, many of which had scaled back partnerships due to regulatory risks. \u201cThis is a reputational win,\u201d said Moyo Ayode, an economist at the Lagos Business School. \u201cIt signals that Nigeria is serious about cleaning up its financial system, and it opens the door to new inflows of foreign capital.\u201d
The United States and European Union both welcomed the FATF\u2019s announcement, describing Nigeria\u2019s reforms as \u201csignificant progress\u201d toward aligning with global standards. In a joint statement, the EU delegation in Abuja said the decision \u201creinforces confidence in Nigeria\u2019s financial institutions and supports regional stability.\u201d
Still, watchdog groups warned that challenges remain. Transparency International noted that while technical compliance has improved, \u201cpolitical will to prosecute corruption cases consistently remains fragile.\u201d The group urged the Nigerian government to maintain vigilance and ensure reforms are not reversed ahead of the 2026 FATF review.
The EFCC said it would continue to pursue financial crimes \u201cwithout fear or favor,\u201d emphasizing that the delisting should not be seen as an invitation to relax oversight. \u201cWe view this not as an endpoint but as a renewed commitment to zero tolerance for illicit finance,\u201d said EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
For Nigeria, the delisting represents more than a regulatory achievement \u2014 it is a diplomatic victory and a potential catalyst for economic recovery. \u201cIt\u2019s a major signal to the world that Nigeria is turning a page,\u201d said World Bank country director Shubham Chaudhuri. \u201cSustaining this progress will be vital to ensuring long-term credibility and economic resilience.\u201d
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ABUJA, Nigeria has officially been removed from the Financial Action Task Force\u2019s (FATF) grey list, marking a significant milestone in the country\u2019s long-running effort to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing systems, authorities announced Saturday. The Paris-based FATF, which monitors global standards for combating illicit financial flows, confirmed the decision after its October plenary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TINUBU-PLEDGE.jpg?fit=1536%2C1096&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22218,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22217\/revisions\/22218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}