Abuja — Nigeria has been removed from the International Financial Task Force's (FATF) list of Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories, thus pronouncing a clean bill of health for the nation's financial credit profile.

The International Financial Task Force's (FATF) broke the news in Paris Friday morning with President Olusegun Obasanjo expressing his delight over the development.

President Obasanjo said that Nigeria's de-listing would, together with the ending of its indebtedness to the Paris Club, the BB Minus rating of its long-term credit status and other positives economic indices, help to attract greater foreign investment to the country.

He also noted that with the de-listing of the country by the FATF, Nigerians will now find it easier to transact business with foreign partners as existing restrictions on their ability to engage in financial transactions outside the country will be removed.

President Obasanjo commended members of the Inter-Agency Committee who crafted the national Anti-Money Laundering Strategy and worked with the FAFT to ensure that Nigeria met its criteria for removal from its list of non-cooperating countries. He also praised the National Assembly for passing the required legislation.

Nigeria was placed on the FATF list of non-cooperating countries in July 2001, having been adjudged to be in substantial non-compliance with a set of 25 criteria including weak anti-money-laundering legislation, inadequate regulation and supervision of the financial sub-sector and the absence of a Financial Intelligence Unit for the receipt and analyses of reports of suspicious transactions from financial institutions.

The country's de-listing by the FATF yesterday was in recognition of the significant progress the Obasanjo administration has made in sanitizing the country's financial sector and implementing the National Strategy Against Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism.

With yesterday delisting by the FATF, Nigeria is now free of encumbrances that have the capacity to stifle the inflow of investment and economic growth.