NFIU, LSEG Engage Private Companies to Address Key Financial Crime Threats in Nigeria

Kayode Tokede

As the global community face growing, interconnected web of financial crimes, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG, yesterday engaged private companies in Nigeria to address key financial crime threats in Nigeria.

Giving her opening remarks at the NFIU-LSEG Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) forum in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, NFIU, Hafsat Bakari, emphasized on the role of PPP in fighting financial crimes in Nigeria.

She stressed that the forum demonstrated how the public sector and private organisations can work together to bring attention to some of the key financial crime threats that are facing Nigeria.

The NFIU boss reiterated that no one organization, public or private, has the capacity to confront the myriad financial crimes challenges, except through cooperation.

She stated: “Nigeria and the global community face a growing and interconnected web of financial crimes that undermine our economic integrity, threaten our national and global security, and facilitate the spread of weapons and other illicit goods that destabilize our region.

“These threats are not only complex but also international in nature, taking advantage of gaps in oversight, regulation, and enforcement. More importantly, the networks that facilitate these crimes, exploit weaknesses in our ability to work together and share information across all the stakeholders involved in the fight against financial crime.”

She stated that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) initiative in Nigeria has been transformative in combating financial crimes.

“This initiative has strengthened the nation’s AML/CFT framework and demonstrates the potential of PPPs to deliver systemic impact,” she said.

According to her, as Nigeria continued to strengthen its national AML/CFT/CPF framework with the intention of exiting the FATF’s grey list next year and ensuring it sustained and effective systems that respond to the highest risk threats, PPPs would become increasingly important.

Her words: “We, at the NFIU, recognize that gatekeepers in the financial and designated non-financial sectors are often the first to become aware of emerging trends and typologies.

“They have a wealth of intelligence and information that can contribute to more effective law enforcement responses across a variety of predicate crimes.

“It is therefore critical that we ensure a properly joined up approach, and this is reflected as a priority in our National AML/CFT/CPF Strategy. Therefore, our gathering today could not have come at a better time.”

Speaking on the significance of the forum, the General Counsel, NFIU, Mr.  Felix Obiamalu, said the federal government is seeking collaboration with the private sector in getting out of the grey list by next year.

He stated that the NFIU is partnering LSEG risk intelligence on the need to develop a PPP framework not just getting out of the grey list but also to enable Nigeria to strengthen its effectiveness going forward.

The Global Head of Financial Crime, LSEG, Che Sidanios noted that the PPP engagement is the most effective way to tackle financial crimes in Nigeria, adding that the purpose of the forum aimed to build capacity to ensure that Nigeria gets off the grey list and continues to stay off the grey list.

He noted that no organization can individually tackle financial crimes in Nigeria, at the same time commending NFIU, among other stakeholder’s commitment and political will to get the country out of the grey list by 2025.

Risk Intelligence at the LSEG, Ece Kugu in a presentation titled “The FATF Grey list and the case of Nigeria” highlighted that countries in grey list would find it difficult to access loan needed to finance projects from international lending facilities, loss in reputation in the international community and increased cost of doing business.

She expressed that for a country to get out of the grey list, such a country must show strong governmental capacity and commitment.

She revealed that Nigeria has been on the grey list three times and the government of Nigeria has shown strong commitment, alignment of laundering and terrorism ACTS with FATF standards.