Nigeria has been officially removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, widely known as the grey list.

The decision, announced at the FATF October 2025 Plenary in Paris, follows Nigeria’s successful completion of a 19-point action plan aimed at strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

Nigeria was first placed on the grey list in February 2023 after FATF identified weaknesses in its AML/CFT systems. Since then, the Federal Government has undertaken sweeping reforms in collaboration with the FATF and the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), addressing the identified gaps through legislative overhauls, institutional capacity building, and improved inter-agency coordination.

Among the key reforms acknowledged by FATF are the enactment of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022; the operationalisation of the Beneficial Ownership Register; and the enhanced supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions.

Announcing the development in a statement on Friday, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari, described the delisting as a “historic moment” in Nigeria’s fight against financial crimes.

“The FATF has officially removed Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. This milestone underscores Nigeria’s sustained commitment to global standards in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing,” Bakari said.

She noted that Nigeria had significantly improved its capacity to detect, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes while deepening international intelligence cooperation.

Bakari commended President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and acknowledged the contributions of the National Assembly, judiciary, key government institutions, and the private sector in achieving the milestone. She also led a high-level Nigerian delegation, including the Attorney-General of the Federation and Ministers of Finance and Interior to the FATF plenary in Paris.

Describing the achievement as “a true test of Nigeria’s resilience and commitment to reform,” Bakari urged all stakeholders to sustain the momentum to ensure continued compliance with global financial integrity standards.

At the same plenary, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and South Africa were also removed from the grey list.