The European Union (EU) has removed Nigeria as well as five other African countries from its list of “high-risk third country jurisdictions” in regard to money laundering and terrorism financing. The five other African countries are South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
According to the European Commission, the delisted countries had implemented reforms to strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) frameworks in accordance with global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This development is projected to ease trade, reduce transaction costs, and also improve investor confidence in Nigeria.
In her response to this development, Minister of State for Finance Doris Uzoka-Anite wrote in a post on X, “Big win for Nigeria! Removed from EU’s financial ‘high-risk’ list! Congrats to President Bola Tinubu on this achievement.
“As minister of state for finance, I’m proud of this boost to trade and investor confidence.”
Countries listed on the EU’s high-risk list faced stricter documentation from European partners; Nigerian businesses and banks were affected, which slowed international trade and complicated the flow of investments.
