EFCC, NFIU prepare for fresh FATF evaluation, after Nigeria’s exit from grey list

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have begun a three-day stocktake to assess Nigeria’s preparedness for the 2027 Mutual Evaluation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The stocktake is a review of how well Nigeria is implementing measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as areas where gaps may remain before international assessors examine the country’s performance.

The exercise, which began on Tuesday at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, is aimed at “reviewing progress, identifying gaps and strengthening inter agency cooperation ahead of the mutual evaluation.”

The review, which is to “continue on 30 September and 2 October, will bring together “officials of both agencies and relevant stakeholders”, according to a statement by the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s FATF grey list history

Last year, Nigeria exited the FATF grey list which is made up of jurisdictions under increased monitoring due to strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime.

Such countries and jurisidctions on the grey list often faces reduced capital inflows from global financial institutions, which can slow economic growth and increase transaction costs.

Announcing Nigeria’s removal from the list on 24 October 2025, FATF reported that Nigeria had made “significant progress” in improving its anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing regime. It cited improvements in risk assessment, international cooperation, supervision, beneficial ownership information and the use of financial intelligence.

The organisation also pointed to a sustained increase in money laundering investigations and prosecutions, improved detection of currency declaration violations and asset recovery, and stronger inter agency cooperation on terrorist financing investigations.

The latest stocktake comes as Nigeria approaches the first anniversary of its removal from the grey list and prepares for another mutual evaluation in 2027.

Under the FATF’s assessment methodology, mutual evaluations examine both technical compliance with the organisation’s standards and the effectiveness of a country’s measures. The methodology places particular emphasis on whether countries are actually implementing their laws, regulations and policies and producing the intended results.

‘Shared commitment to achieving full compliance’

EFCC chairperson Ola Olukoyede described the stocktake as a demonstration of Nigeria’s commitment to meeting international standards on anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing.

Mr Olukoyede, who was represented by the Secretary to the EFCC, Muhammad Hammajoda, framed the exercise as a “shared commitment to achieving full compliance” with FATF requirements.

He identified the use of financial intelligence, asset tracing, recovery and management, money laundering, investigation and prosecution among the issues under consideration.

“It is unimaginable that Nigeria returns to the Grey List,” Mr Olukoyede warned.

He explained that the stocktake would allow Nigeria to demonstrate the progress it had made since leaving the grey list and consolidate those gains ahead of the mutual evaluation.

Meanwhile, he described the exercise as an opportunity to “retrospect and determine what is working” and redirect resources where necessary.

Mr Olukoyede also highlighted the EFCC’s enforcement activities since Nigeria’s removal from the grey list, including the recovery of proceeds of crime under the Recovery and Management Act 2022.

“Since Nigeria was removed from the FATF Grey List, we have scaled up our Anti Money Laundering enforcement activities, recovering of proceeds of crimes,” he added.

What assessors look out for

Also at the event, NFIU Chief Executive Officer Hafsat Abubakar Bakari stressed the importance of the stocktake to the longstanding relationship between the two institutions and Nigeria’s collective response to financial crimes.

Mrs Bakari was represented by the NFIU Chief Operating Officer, Law Enforcement Agencies, Emmanuel Sotande.

She clarified that the exercise was “not about addressing a crisis” but about identifying areas where both agencies could improve their collective performance before the mutual evaluation.

“We gathered here not because there is a problem to solve, but because there is a standard to uphold,” Mrs Bakari maintained.

She explained that the exercise would enable the agencies to reflect on what was working, identify remaining challenges and agree on specific actions to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness.

However, Mrs Bakari noted that the mutual evaluation would go beyond Nigeria’s laws and institutional structures to examine how effectively the country implements them.

“The reality is that international assessors will not only look at our laws, frameworks and structure,” she observed. “They will look at the evidence that we are able to put in place to produce desirable outcomes,” she said.

According to her, assessors would look for evidence of effective investigations, successful prosecutions, asset recovery, inter agency collaboration and the use of intelligence to disrupt criminal activities.

She also pointed to the EFCC’s role in those areas, describing them as areas where “the EFCC has played a central role in shaping Nigeria’s progress in the last year”.

In his presentation, Mrs Bakari’s Chief of Staff, Mohammed Shahid Ahmed, outlined key areas Nigeria needs to address ahead of the 2027 FATF mutual evaluation.

Mr Ahmed recalled that Nigeria’s 2019 Mutual Evaluation, whose report was published in 2021, identified deficiencies that contributed to the country’s placement on the FATF grey list.

He explained that Nigeria subsequently implemented measures to address those deficiencies, particularly in financial investigations, identification and recovery of proceeds of crime, international cooperation and cross border currency declaration.

Mr Ahmed, however, expressed concern that Nigeria had “just little time to consolidate on the gains” made since its removal from the grey list because preparations for the next mutual evaluation began barely a year after the country was removed.

He explained that the 2027 assessment would focus not only on technical compliance with FATF standards but also on effectiveness.

“Including whether agencies use financial intelligence, prioritise investigations based on identified risks, and show that enforcement efforts are producing decisive results.”