NFIU plans new framework to boost financial intelligence sharing

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit has commenced plans to establish a Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration framework aimed at strengthening financial intelligence sharing between public and private sector institutions.

The proposed framework is expected to enhance collaboration among regulators, banks, insurance companies, fintechs, Virtual Asset Service Providers, technology firms and other stakeholders in identifying emerging financial threats and disrupting illicit financial networks.

The NFIU in a statement released on Thursday said the initiative was discussed at a high-level stakeholder engagement organised by the NFIU with the support of the British High Commission, Nigeria, and the Convention for Business Integrity.

“Nigeria has taken a significant step towards enhancing the integrity and resilience of its financial system, as the NFIU brought together leading stakeholders to help shape a new framework for financial intelligence sharing.

“The initiative seeks to create a trusted platform through which public and private-sector institutions can work together more effectively to identify emerging threats, disrupt illicit financial networks and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system, “the statement partly read.

Representing the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, the Unit’s General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu, said the engagement marked a shift from discussions about the initiative to designing and implementing the proposed framework.

Obiamalu said, “We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation.”

He said stakeholders were expected to jointly determine how the partnership would operate, the value it would create and how it could be sustained.

He added, “The objective is no longer simply to discuss the concept. It is to jointly determine what this partnership should look like, how it should operate, what value it should create and how it can be sustained over time.”

The proposed Joint Financial Intelligence Collaboration is designed to provide a trusted platform for public and private sector institutions to share relevant intelligence more effectively and strengthen the country’s response to increasingly sophisticated forms of financial crime.

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Speaking on behalf of the British High Commission, the Illicit Financial Flows Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Jehanzeb Khan, reaffirmed the importance of stronger public-private collaboration in tackling illicit financial flows.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the Convention for Business Integrity, Olusoji Apampa, said the process was deliberately designed to place the private sector at the centre of decision-making.

He said this would help ensure that the emerging framework reflected operational realities and secured broad stakeholder ownership.

Delivering the keynote presentation, former Chair of the Egmont Group and former Director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, Xolisile Khanyile, urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the proposed framework.

Khanyile described private-sector participation in combating financial crime as a national responsibility.

She said, “Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership.”

She added, “Given Nigeria’s importance within the global AML/CFT framework, this initiative is both timely and necessary.”

The engagement ended with stakeholder support for the proposed framework and a commitment to advancing collaboration aimed at improving financial intelligence, strengthening threat detection and enhancing Nigeria’s ability to respond to illicit financial activity.

The NFIU said the initiative would require sustained cooperation between government and industry, with stakeholders sharing insights, identifying risks early and building collective resilience against financial crimes.