Nigeria: EU Removes Nigeria From High-Risk Financial List

Council of the European Union
A press conference at the AU-EU partnership summit (file photo).
16 January 2026
Daily Trust (Abuja)
By Abdullateef Aliyu

Nigeria has officially been removed from the European Union's list of high-risk jurisdictions for money laundering and terrorism financing.

The decision, announced by the European Commission in a statement, also delisted South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania, while Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands were newly added to the list.

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Nigeria's removal follows its exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in 2025 after implementing wide-ranging reforms in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) frameworks.

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Daily Trust reports that the development is expected to ease cross-border transactions, reduce compliance costs for businesses, and improve investor confidence.

Under the new decision, enhanced due diligence requirements previously applied to transactions involving Nigeria will be lifted from January 29, 2026, subject to procedural approval by the European Parliament and the Council.

EU entities are required to apply heightened scrutiny to transactions involving countries designated as high-risk.

With Nigeria's delisting, such enhanced vigilance will no longer apply to Nigerian-related transactions within the EU once the regulation comes into force.

According to the European Commission, the update reflects decisions taken by the FATF at its June and October 2025 plenaries, where several countries were removed from the list of "Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring."

"The EU has added new third-country jurisdictions to the list (Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands) and delisted a number of others (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania)," the Commission said.

The delisting is also expected to strengthen Nigeria's attractiveness to foreign investors who had previously been cautious due to reputational and compliance risks linked to the high-risk designation.

While the Presidency is yet to issue an official statement, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, welcomed the development, describing it as a major win for the country.

In a post on X, she wrote: "Big win for Nigeria! Removed from EU's financial 'high-risk' list. Congrats to President @officialABAT on this achievement. As Minister of State for Finance, I'm proud of this boost to trade and investor confidence."

Read the original article on Daily Trust.

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