MONEY LAUNDERING PREVENTION AND PROHIBITION ACT

What Is This Policy?

The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 is Nigeria's primary legislation for combating money laundering across all sectors of the economy. It strengthens customer due diligence requirements, updates reporting obligations for financial and designated non-financial businesses, and aligns Nigeria's anti-money laundering framework with the revised FATF recommendations.

Who Does It Target?

Financial institutions: banks, insurance companies, capital market operators, money transfer operators, and cryptocurrency exchanges Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs): real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, car dealers, and high-value goods dealers The gaming, lottery, and casino industry All organisations handling cash transactions above prescribed thresholds

What Does It Aim to Achieve?

Prevent Nigeria's financial system from being used to launder the proceeds of crime, corruption, terrorism, and drug trafficking Achieve compliance with FATF Recommendations to avoid international grey or black listing, which restricts Nigeria's access to correspondent banking Detect and prosecute money laundering offences with maximum penalties of seven to fourteen years imprisonment and forfeiture of laundered assets Improve Nigeria's Mutual Evaluation ratings and remove it from the FATF grey list, where it was placed in 2023

Key Features

Know Your Customer (KYC): All regulated entities must verify and document the identity of customers before opening accounts or conducting transactions above specified thresholds Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR): All regulated institutions must report suspicious transactions to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) within 48 hours; failure attracts criminal penalties Cash Transaction Reporting: Single or cumulative cash transactions above N5 million (individuals) or N10 million (corporate) must be reported to NFIU Beneficial Ownership: The Act requires disclosure and verification of ultimate beneficial owners of companies and trusts, closing the shell company loophole Asset Forfeiture: Courts can order forfeiture of property identified as proceeds of money laundering, even without a criminal conviction in certain circumstances NFIU as National FIU: The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is the central repository for financial intelligence reports, with operational independence from EFCC

Current Status

Rollout Stage: Active; FATF Mutual Evaluation of Nigeria in progress; CBN AML/CFT regulations updated to align with the 2022 Act Implementing Body: EFCC; NFIU; Central Bank of Nigeria; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); NDLEA FATF Status: Nigeria was placed on the FATF grey list (Increased Monitoring) in February 2023; exiting the list is a priority government objective AML Compliance: CBN conducted 156 AML/CFT enforcement actions against banks and non-bank financial institutions in 2022 to 2023

How to Access

Regulated Entities: Download EFCC, CBN, and SEC AML/CFT compliance guidelines from their respective websites; designate a compliance officer and register with NFIU Report Suspicious Activity: File Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) through the NFIU portal at nfiu.gov.ng; reporting is mandatory, not optional Whistleblowers: Report suspected money laundering activities to EFCC at efcc.gov.ng or call 0800 1255332 Contact: EFCC: efcc.gov.ng | NFIU: nfiu.gov.ng | CBN AML/CFT: cbn.gov.ng

Important Terms

Tipping Off Offence: It is a criminal offence to inform a customer or third party that they are the subject of a money laundering investigation or STR Liability of Senior Management: Directors and senior managers of entities that fail to implement AML controls are personally liable for criminal sanctions

Official Resources

Website: efcc.gov.ng | nfiu.gov.ng | cbn.gov.ng Contact: EFCC, No. 5 Fomela Close, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja | Whistle Blower: 0800 1255332 Policy Summary | Source: EFCC, NFIU, FATF GIABA, CBN AML/CFT Regulations, AG Nigeria 2022, IMF AML Review | February 2026

Legal Framework

The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 is the current primary anti-money laundering legislation in Nigeria. It operates alongside the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and the CBN AML/CFT Regulations 2013. Nigeria's obligations under the FATF 40 Recommendations, the GIABA Mutual Evaluation standards, and the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) provide the international framework.