Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, says Nigeria’s removal from the European Union (EU) high-risk list will ease business transactions between the country and the region.
Mohammed Manga, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Finance, announced in a statement on Thursday,
noting that Edun attributed the development to Tinubu’s leadership and reform
agenda.
The EU recently removed Nigeria and five other African
countries from its list of “high-risk third country jurisdictions” for money
laundering and terrorism financing.
Manga said Tinubu’s decisive leadership drove inter-agency
coordination, international engagement, and implementation of key reforms,
addressing Nigeria’santi-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing
(AML/CFT) gaps.
“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,” he said.
“As a result, Nigeria has been removed from the EU list of
high-risk third countries, alongside other jurisdictions that have demonstrated
similar progress.
“This development represents another major boost to
Nigeria’s global financial credibility.
“It is expected to ease enhanced due diligence requirements
for Nigerian individuals, businesses, and financial institutions transacting
with European counterparts, improve correspondent banking relationships,
enhance investor confidence, and further integrate Nigeria into the
international financial system.”
The minister lauded stakeholders, including regulators,
private sector operators, and law enforcement agencies, for their role in
Nigeria’s removal from the EU list.
Edun reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to sustaining strong
anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms, while continuing
collaboration with international partners to strengthen the country’s financial
system.
The other countries delisted are South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
The decision followed the countries’ successful exit from
the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, after implementing reforms to
strengthen their AML/CFT frameworks.
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