Banks account for 92% of NFIU suspicious reports

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit has disclosed that banks, fintech companies and other reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports to the agency in 2025.

The figure was contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which highlighted continued risks to Nigeria’s financial system and increased regulatory monitoring of transactions.

The agency also received 41,716,214 Currency Transaction Reports and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports during the year.

“During the review period, the NFIU received a total of 41,716,214 CTRs, 42,082 STRs, and 10,513 SARs,” the report stated.

The NFIU said its reporting framework covers threshold-based transactions, suspicious transactions and activities, as well as regulatory submissions relating to anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing compliance.

It noted that it collaborates with the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering to ensure that reporting entities comply with applicable regulations.

Deposit Money Banks accounted for the bulk of STR filings, submitting 38,715 reports, representing about 92 per cent of the total received from the various sectors.

Other Financial Institutions submitted 2,185 STRs, while Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions accounted for 1,029. Capital market operators and insurance companies filed 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers, including cryptocurrency-related businesses, submitted 49.

Banks also dominated Suspicious Activity Reports, contributing 8,313 of the 10,513 filings recorded in 2025. Other Financial Institutions accounted for 1,816, capital market and insurance companies filed 295, while Virtual Asset Service Providers submitted 89. The DNFBP sector recorded no SAR during the year.

The report further showed that financial institutions filed more than 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports. Deposit Money Banks accounted for 37,214,139 filings, equivalent to about 89.2 per cent of the total, while Other Financial Institutions submitted 4,212,466.

Capital market operators and insurance companies contributed 289,296 CTRs, while Virtual Asset Service Providers filed 313.

According to the NFIU, Section 11 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act requires financial institutions to report transactions exceeding N5m for individuals and N10m for legal entities within seven days.

The agency added that Section 3(1) of the law mandates the reporting of incoming and outgoing transfers above $10,000 within 24 hours.

Data from the four quarters showed a steady rise in STR filings by banks. Reports increased from 9,134 in the first quarter to 9,658 in the second, 9,891 in the third and 10,032 in the fourth quarter.

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Currency Transaction Reports from Deposit Money Banks followed a similar upward trend, rising from 7,040,493 in the first quarter to 8,197,292 in the second, 10,885,247 in the third and 11,091,107 in the fourth quarter.

Among Other Financial Institutions, STR filings stood at 451 in the first quarter and 432 in the second before climbing to 719 in the third and falling to 583 in the fourth.

The NFIU also reported increased activity among Virtual Asset Service Providers. The sector recorded no STRs during the first half of 2025 but filed 17 in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth quarter.

VASPs also submitted 28 SARs in the first quarter, 12 in the second, 24 in the third and 25 in the fourth. Their CTR filings emerged in the second half of the year, with 103 reports in the third quarter and 210 in the fourth.

The agency disclosed that reporting entities submitted 28,133,909 reports involving Politically Exposed Persons during 2025.

Deposit Money Banks accounted for most of the PEP filings, recording 7,263,557 in the first quarter, 5,658,079 in the second, 6,235,585 in the third and 8,225,572 in the fourth.

Other Financial Institutions recorded a significant increase in PEP reports, rising from just 12 in the first quarter to 617,286 in the fourth quarter. Capital market and insurance institutions submitted 28,561 reports, while VASPs recorded none.

The NFIU also disclosed that its Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Division conducted joint on-site examinations of 29 reporting entities in the Federal Capital Territory.

The entities were drawn from the real estate, casino, precious metals and stones dealing, and consultancy sectors.

According to the report, the exercise resulted in 20 new registrations on the RapidAML portal and subscriptions to NIGSAC, alongside the submission of 1,029 Suspicious Transaction Reports.

Despite the increased compliance activity, the number of STRs received in 2025 was significantly lower than the previous year. STR filings fell by 40,061, from 82,143 in 2024 to 42,082 in 2025, representing a decline of about 48.8 per cent.

Suspicious Activity Reports also dropped by 12,851, from 23,364 in 2024 to 10,513 in 2025, representing a reduction of approximately 55 per cent.

The contrasting figures indicate that while reporting entities recorded significantly higher volumes of threshold-based transactions and PEP disclosures in 2025, suspicious transaction and activity reports declined sharply compared with the previous year.