Money-Laundering: NFIU Commences Financial
Intelligence
Money-Laundering: NFIU Commences Financial
Intelligence
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) through this
statement is informing its local reporting entities, International
Partners, counterpart financial intelligence units (FIUs), relevant
competent authorities and the general public that the Unit, created
by the Federal Government recently, is now fully repositioned to
commence full operations from 1st April 2019.
The main focus of the NFIU will be to fight all crimes through
money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation of weapons
real time analyses in the entire country.
We are also using this medium to respond to enquiries about the
current position of the EU’s recent listing of Nigeria as High Risk
Third Country with deficiencies in money laundering and terrorism
financing controls. The listing was officially withdrawn by the
Council of Europe on 5th March 2019 while giving room for the
European Commission and the European Parliament to align their
positions. The Nigeria government engaged the E.U authorities
through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NFIU to reach an
understanding.
Significant measures to be implemented by the NFIU in the near
future will include full implementation of the National Sanctions
regime to all detected areas of vulnerabilities within our systems.
Other areas include issuing guidelines, advisories etc. that will
affect cash transactions processes of local, state, federal
governments and bureau de change etc.
The Unit will also release new reporting requirements on
suspicious transactions for terrorism prone areas and on suspects
taken into custody in violent and flashpoint communities to check
vices of terrorism, proliferation of small arms, kidnapping, ethnic
violence, cattle rustlings etc. with the view to providing credible
intelligence for law enforcement and national security.
Finally, efforts of the Federal Government to set up the
beneficial ownership data base for politically exposed persons and
public servants will be completed and expanded to capture
additional necessary areas. The new process which includes new
approach to analysing compliance in public account expenditures
will almost shut down corruption from the way we used to know and
new transparency methods will come to governance.
We request all entities and individuals to cooperate with the
new processes when they start unfolding because the measures are
necessary in order to move the country forward.
Mr. Ahmed Dikko
Ag. Chief Media Analyst, NFIU