Federal Government Seeks Partnership Against Money Laundering, Others

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has expressed comcern over the growing use of real estate, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and luxury goods as conduits for money laundering and other illicit financial activities in the country.

The AGF, at a one-day roundtable on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Framework for Combating Financial Crimes in Nigeria, said while the government had tightened laws and policies on anti-money laundering, criminals were increasingly exploiting new channels, especially the property market, charities, and professional services.

Fagbemi, represented by Chief State Counsel in the federal ministry of justice, Ms Chika Nnanna, said government will not relent in fighting illicit funds in the country.

He said at the event, organised by Pattison Consulting, in partnership with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the British High Commission, “Criminal proceeds are laundered through real estate, luxury goods, and even charities. These sectors, if left unchecked, could become safe havens for illicit funds. ”

He emphasised that traditional methods of fighting financial crimes were no longer sufficient, stressing the need for a coordinated public-private partnership model to curb money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.

The Attorney-General also flagged data protection concerns as a key challenge to intelligence sharing, insisting that new legal frameworks must strike a balance between information exchange and the protection of citizens’ privacy rights.

Speaking in the same vein, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, represented by Babatunde Bamigboye, pledged the agency’s readiness to collaborate with the NFIU and other stakeholders in safeguarding personal data, while enhancing intelligence sharing.

On his part, General Counsel of the NFIU, Felix Obiamalu, clarified that the Attorney-General’s remarks were not an indictment of the entire real estate or NGO sector, but a call for stronger regulation.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, in her welcome remarks, noted that Nigeria’s financial system remains under international scrutiny, urging stakeholders to strengthen collaboration to avoid returning to the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.