We’re Trying To Take Nigeria Out Of Money Laundering Grey List –NFIU Boss

Posted by African Examiner Business News, Featured, Latest Headlines Wednesday, November 27th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Hafsat Bakari, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has stated that Nigeria has gathered more upgrades in the fight against money laundering.

Bakari stated this in Abuja on Tuesday in a roundtable discussion organised by NFIU and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) with the theme, “Public-private partnership as a platform to support collaboration among AML/CFT/CPF stakeholders”.

According to Bakari, Nigeria has gathered lots of upgrades in five key recommendations from the financial action task force (FATF).

Speaking on the ATF grey list issue, the NFIU boss stated that Nigeria is “compliant or largely compliant” which has 37 out of the 40 FATF recommendations.

According to her, the country targets full compliance by 2025 to score 40 out of 40 recommendations.

“I would like to commend all the agencies, especially those in the inter-ministerial committee, for the tremendous work we have done to get Nigeria off the grey list,” she said.

“We are determined to address the remaining deficiencies before we conclude this round of evaluations.

“We have been on the grey list three times, and I think that is enough for a country. So hopefully, after the next round, we don’t expect to ever be in the grey list again. And that is what we are working on.”

Bakari also stated that financial crimes can disrupt the economy of any country, and that it poses a threat to regulatory gaps.

“As we convene today, Nigeria and the global community face a growing and interconnected web of financial crimes that undermine our economic integrity, threaten our national and global security, and facilitate the spread of weapons and other illicit goods that destabilise our region,” she said.

“These threats are not only complex but also international in nature, taking advantage of gaps in oversight, gaps in regulation, and gaps in enforcement.

“More importantly, the networks that facilitate these crimes, exploit weaknesses in our ability to work together and share information across all the stakeholders involved in the fight against financial crime.

“No one organisation, public or private, has the capacity to confront these challenges in isolation. It’s only through cooperation that we can expect to win.”