The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued an 18-month deadline for banks to deploy automated systems to detect money laundering.
This directive was contained in a circular dated March 10, 2026, and titled “Issuance of Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solution for Financial Institutions in Nigeria." ”.
The apex bank said, “The baseline standards provide a framework for implementing automated solutions that strengthen the detection and reporting of suspicious transactions in real time and enhance compliance with applicable AML/CFT/CPF laws and regulations, while also supporting the use of emerging technologies to improve overall financial crime risk management.”
The bank said the development was to support the adoption of technologies to enhance financial crime risk management, and affected institutions are also directed to submit implementation roadmaps.
The CBN said, “The implementation of these guidelines shall start from the date of issuance, while full compliance shall be 18 months (for deposit money banks) and 24 months (for other financial institutions) from the date of issuance.
“Therefore, institutions shall submit implementation roadmaps to the Compliance Department within three months from the date of issuance.”
The apex bank further stated, “As financial services become increasingly digitized and complex, manual AML/CFT/CPF controls are no longer sufficient to manage evolving risks.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN expects automated AML solutions to assess activity in the context of the full customer profile and not monitoring solely on raw transactional data.”
According to the bank, “All stakeholders are required to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines and all other regulations, as the CBN continues to monitor developments and issue further guidance as may be appropriate.”
