UK Envoy, NGOs Hail Nigeria’s Removal From FATF Grey List

The United Kingdom High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, and the Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), have commended Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, describing it as a major step forward for the nation’s financial integrity, transparency, and global reputation.

LEADERSHIP recalls that at its October 2025 Plenary in Paris, the FATF officially delisted Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring after the country successfully implemented a 19-point Action Plan to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

Nigeria had been placed on the grey list in February 2023 after FATF identified strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT systems.

Since then, the Federal Government has worked closely with FATF and the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) to address the gaps through legislative reforms, institutional strengthening, and inter-agency coordination.

Key reforms cited by FATF included the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; the operationalisation of the Beneficial Ownership Register; and improved supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions.

In a statement confirming the development, the Director/CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari, said Nigeria had enhanced the capacity of its intelligence and law enforcement agencies to detect, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes, while deepening international cooperation and intelligence sharing.

Reacting to the delisting in a post on X, the UK High Commissioner, Richard Montgomery, described the development as “brilliant news” that would boost investor confidence.

“Brilliant news that the Financial Action Task Force has de-listed Nigeria from the grey list. This reflects strong efforts to implement reforms by the Nigerian Government and opens up new opportunities for trade and investment,” Montgomery wrote.

In a separate statement, the Executive Director of the NNNGO, Oyebisi Oluseyi, described Nigeria’s exit from the grey list as a “critical inflection point for financial transparency, integrity, and security.”

He said the milestone was the result of collaborative efforts between government, civil society, and the private sector, and signified Nigeria’s renewed commitment to global financial standards.

“This milestone represents a genuine validation of collaboration between government, businesses, and civil society, as well as sustained advocacy by civic actors,” Oluseyi stated.

Oluseyi noted that since 2012, the NNNGO had proactively engaged in the AML/CFT dialogue through conferences, regional workshops, and partnerships with regulatory bodies such as the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML).

These efforts, he said, ensured that compliance measures were both effective and supportive of the nonprofit ecosystem.

He also highlighted the government’s 2022 decision to remove nonprofit organisations from the list of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions as a landmark reform that eliminated onerous reporting duties irrelevant to their risk profile.

“A key step towards today’s announcement was the government’s commitment to a focused, proportionate, risk-based approach to regulating nonprofit organisations, as mandated by FATF’s revised Recommendation 8,” Oluseyi added.

According to him, Nigeria’s delisting will ease compliance costs for international transactions, facilitate capital flows, and boost annual remittances, which are crucial for poverty reduction and sustainable development.

“The exit from the FATF grey list will contribute to economic growth and enhance the ability of nonprofit organisations to mobilise and utilise financial resources. It is also expected to boost confidence in the economy, household income, and savings,” he said.

While commending the government’s achievement, Oluseyi urged that the reforms be sustained.

“While we celebrate this progress, the real work lies in translating these legislative successes into permanently institutionalised reforms. Never again must Nigeria be on the grey list,” he concluded.