Nigeria exits FATF grey-list
Nigeria has officially exited the global money-laundering “grey list” maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), marking the end of over two years of heightened international scrutiny.
The announcement was made during the FATF’s October 2025 Plenary in Paris, where it also removed South Africa, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso from the same list.
Nigeria had been grey-listed since February 2023 due to what FATF described as strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) systems. In response, the government adopted a 19-point action plan that included legal reforms, institutional strengthening, better inter-agency coordination, and enforcement of a beneficial ownership register.
President Bola Tinubu hailed the decision as a “strategic victory for our economy and a renewed vote of confidence in Nigeria’s financial governance.” He pledged not to treat delisting as an endpoint but to continue deepening institutional reforms and transparency. The Director/CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Hafsat Bakari, called the milestone a test of Nigeria’s resilience and coordination.
Economists expect the delisting to reduce friction in cross-border transactions, lower funding costs, and improve Nigeria’s appeal to foreign investors. The International Monetary Fund has previously estimated that being on the grey list can reduce foreign capital inflows by about 7.6 % of GDP.
However, Nigeria will remain under a 12-month observation period, during which it must prove that reforms result in sustained enforcement and institutional capacity. The challenge will especially lie in continuing prosecutions of financial crime, enforcing beneficial-ownership transparency, and ensuring agency accountability.
This development marks a turning point for Nigeria’s financial reputation, signaling to global markets and financial institutions that the country is regaining credibility on compliance and integrity.
