The European Union has removed Nigeria, alongside five other African countries, from its list of “high-risk third country jurisdictions” for money laundering and terrorism financing.
The other countries delisted are South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
The decision follows the countries’ successful removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list after implementing reforms to strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) frameworks.
In October 2025, the FATF announced Nigeria’s delisting from its list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes. According to Business Insider Africa, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that the affected countries had addressed key weaknesses in their financial systems and now meet international standards set by the FATF.
The commission said the reforms carried out were sufficient to justify their removal from the EU’s financial high-risk list.
With enhanced due diligence requirements set to be lifted from January 29, the development is expected to ease trade and payment flows, lower transaction costs, and boost investor confidence across the affected economies.
Reacting to the announcement, the minister of state for finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, described Nigeria’s removal from the list as a significant achievement.
“Big win for Nigeria! Removed from EU’s financial ‘high-risk’ list! Congrats to President Bola Tinubu on this achievement,” she wrote on X.
She added, “As minister of state for finance, I’m proud of this boost to trade and investor confidence.”