Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has welcomed the European Commission’s decision to remove Nigeria from the European Union’s list of high-risk third countries for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
Mr. Edun said that the delisting was made possible through the “leadership and clear reform vision” of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
“President Tinubu’s decisive leadership ensured strong inter-agency coordination, sustained engagement with international partners, and the full implementation of critical legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms required to address the strategic deficiencies previously identified in Nigeria’s AML/CFT framework,” the statement by the ministry of finance quoted the minister as saying.
Edun commended the contributions of stakeholders involved in the reform process, including financial sector regulators, law enforcement agencies, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, supervisory authorities, the judiciary and private sector operators.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to sustaining and deepening AML/CFT reforms, noting that the country would continue to work closely with the FATF, the European Union and other international partners.
Explaining the rationale and implications of the removal, the statement said: “The European Commission, in its assessment, concluded that Nigeria has significantly strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and satisfactorily addressed the technical and strategic deficiencies highlighted by the FATF.
“As a result, Nigeria has been removed from the EU list of high-risk third countries, alongside other jurisdictions that have demonstrated similar progress.”
The statement recalled that the decision is contained in the European Commission Delegated Regulation released this week, amending Delegated Regulation 2016/1675.
It added that Nigeria had earlier been removed from the Financial Action Task Force list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring in October 2025, after the successful completion of its FATF Action Plan.
According to the statement, the development is expected to boost Nigeria’s global financial credibility by easing enhanced due diligence requirements for Nigerian individuals, businesses and financial institutions dealing with European counterparts.
It noted that the decision will also “improve correspondent banking relationships, enhance investor confidence, and further integrate Nigeria into the international financial system.”
GIK/APA