President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Elisa de Anda Madrazo, has praised Nigeria’s strong political commitment and concrete reforms in the fight against financial crimes, as the country successfully exited the FATF grey list.
Speaking at the FATF plenary in Paris, France, Madrazo said Nigeria’s removal from the list was not only a result of political will but also of tangible progress and systemic reforms implemented over the past two years under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Nigeria has demonstrated strong political commitment to fight financial crimes. However, let me be clear: it is not only that we have seen a political commitment to exit the grey list — it is because we have seen the change and the political measures put in place,” she said.
Madrazo commended Nigeria for transforming political intent into concrete action, noting that the country now demonstrates stronger capacity to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
“After sustained efforts of just over two years, Nigeria has demonstrated a stronger capacity — this is fundamental — to investigate and prosecute. This is crucially helping Nigeria to focus resources to fight crimes that harm its community the most, such as drug trafficking and terrorist financing,” she added.
The FATF President highlighted several areas of improvement, including government-wide policy reforms, enhanced transparency of beneficial ownership structures, and stronger supervision in non-financial sectors such as real estate.
She said the progress achieved convinced the FATF plenary that Nigeria had fully addressed its action plan, leading to the country’s removal from the grey list. Madrazo also urged Nigeria to sustain its efforts for the benefit of its citizens.
She noted that the presence of three Nigerian ministers at the plenary demonstrated the Tinubu administration’s seriousness in combating illicit financial flows.
