UK Commends Nigeria’s Efforts at Exiting FATF Grey List

•As FG seeks homegrown PPP framework in tackling ML/TF/PF

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday commended Nigeria’s efforts towards exiting the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

Representative of the British High Commission, Mr. William Robinson, who made the call at a Roundtable on Developing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Platform for Coordinated Action against Money Laundering (ML), Terrorism Financing (TF) and Proliferation Financing (PF) in Nigeria, also assured of the UK’s continued support in Nigeria’s fight against financial crimes.

The roundtable was organized by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in collaboration with the British High Commission and the Pattison Consult.

“Let me commend stakeholders present today on the completion of the off-site by the Financial Action Task Force. This was a major process built of sustained efforts over the past two and a half years to deliver on the FATF Action Plan.

“We hope for a good outcome at the FATF plenary in October”, Robinson stated in a goodwill message.

Meanwhile, the UK representative expressed confidence that the launch of PPP framework shortly after the completion of the on-site process is reflective of the commendable commitment from all parties involved to fight economic and financial crime in Nigeria.

“We have a long history of collaborating in the fight against financial crime. Together, we have made significant strides since the return of democracy in 1999 to build more effective law enforcement agencies that are able to better detect, investigate and prosecute anti-corruption and economic crime.

“We maintain close partnerships with law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to cooperate on joint investigations and to tackle common threats”, Robinson added.

According to him, the UK and Nigeria have a common challenge of securing citizens and investors against growing levels of fraud and preventing illicit funds from compromising the integrity of their respective markets.

The above situation, Robinson noted, led to a growing appreciation of the need to draw on collective capabilities in the fight against financial crime.

“Whilst our operating contexts are different, the UK stands ready to share lessons from our experience on what has and has not worked in delivering public private partnerships. In due course, we look forward to leveraging learning from Nigeria’s experience as well”, he added.

In her welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NFIU, Mrs. Hafsat Bakari, who harped on the essence of collaborating with others, stated that no single institution, whether public or private, can combat the scale and sophistication of financial crimes alone.

Besides, Bakari disclosed the threats confronting Nigeria’s financial system and economy are increasingly complex; ranging from cyber-enabled fraud and illicit financial flows, to regulatory arbitrage and evolving typologies of money laundering and terrorist financing.

“These are not just regulatory issues; they are national security concerns that demand resilience, innovation, and above all, collaboration”, she said.

“The evidence is clear: siloed approaches are no longer sufficient. We must move towards a partnership that builds trust, encourages real-time intelligence sharing, closes institutional gaps, and creates a structured, incentive-aligned framework for sustained cooperation”, the NFIU CEO added.

She expressed hope that the high-level presentations and panel discussions at the roundtable would move the country closer to co-creating a Nigerian-specific PPP model that is legally sound, institutionally robust, and operationally practical.

“Our ultimate aim is a home-grown, context-sensitive framework that responds to our unique risks and serves as a model for other African jurisdictions.

“This initiative also comes at a particularly important time for Nigeria, as we prepare for the forthcoming mutual evaluation exercise. The world will be watching not just what we say, but what we do to demonstrate effectiveness.

“A structured PPP will show our seriousness in bridging the gap between policy and implementation, between ambition and delivery. I therefore urge every agency and participant here to engage robustly, contribute wholeheartedly, and fully key into this project”, she said.

Also speaking, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr. Jobson Ewelafoh, commended the NFIU for the initiative, which he described as a bold and timely response to one of the most critical challenges facing not only Nigeria but the global financial system at large.

Ewelafoh stated that money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing pose grave risks by destabilizing economies, threatening national and regional security, diminishing investor confidence, and eroding institutional integrity.

“The launch of a PPP platform marks a transformative step in the fight against financial crime. It underscores the understanding that government institutions, regulators, financial institutions, and private sector stakeholders are not working at cross-purposes but as partners united by a common duty to safeguard the financial system”, he said.

The DG therefore urged all stakeholders – public and private – to embrace it not just as an initiative, but as a lasting pledge to advance shared prosperity, peace, and stability.