CBN Headquarters Abuja
By JOY ADARA , Abuja-
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has applauded the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list,” describing it as a major milestone in Nigeria’s financial reform journey.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the FATF’s decision came after a successful on-site review of the nation’s anti–money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks.
According to her, “The FATF’s decision follows a two-year reform programme coordinated by the Federal Government, involving multiple agencies including the CBN, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
Nigeria was placed on the FATF grey list in February 2023 due to identified weaknesses in its systems for tackling money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The recent delisting, Sidi-Ali explained, recognizes the country’s “significant improvements in regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement frameworks.”
She added that the CBN played a key role by enhancing governance, supervision, and transparency across financial institutions. FATF and its regional counterpart, GIABA (Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa), evaluated these reforms before reaching their decision.
The reforms assessed included:
Stronger oversight through updated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations.
Adoption of risk-based supervision and fit-and-proper assessments.
Broader compliance monitoring across remittance services, bureau de change operators, and fintech platforms.
Improved data sharing and enforcement coordination between CBN, NFIU, EFCC, and other law enforcement agencies.
Introduction of market governance measures such as the Foreign Exchange Code (FX Code) and the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS).
“These reforms have greatly strengthened Nigeria’s alignment with global financial standards and boosted trust in the integrity of our financial system,” she noted.
Sidi-Ali emphasized that Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list will bring real economic benefits. “This achievement will lower compliance costs, ease access to international finance, and make cross-border transactions faster and more affordable,” she said.
She further added that the move is expected to enhance trade settlements, quicken remittance inflows, and improve access to foreign exchange — outcomes that will “support businesses, improve livelihoods, and deepen financial inclusion.”
Concluding, the CBN spokesperson said the FATF decision reflects renewed international confidence in Nigeria’s economic direction. “Recent global assessments by Moody’s and Fitch have also upgraded Nigeria’s outlook, recognizing credible policy reforms, stronger external balances, and restored monetary policy trust,” she said.
