Nigeria has been officially removed from the European Union’s classification of high-risk jurisdictions associated with money laundering and terrorism financing.
This announcement was made by the European Commission, which also lifted the high-risk status of South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania, while adding Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands to the list.
The delisting of Nigeria comes after its successful exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in 2025, following the implementation of extensive reforms in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) measures.
According to reports from Daily Trust, this change is anticipated to facilitate cross-border transactions, decrease compliance costs for businesses, and bolster investor confidence in the country.
Under the new policy, the heightened scrutiny previously mandated for transactions involving Nigeria will be eliminated starting January 29, 2026, pending procedural approval from the European Parliament and the Council.
Entities within the EU are mandated to apply stricter examination to transactions related to nations classified as high-risk. With Nigeria no longer on this list, this increased scrutiny will not be necessary for transactions associated with Nigeria once the new regulation is enacted.
The European Commission states that this update is consistent with decisions made by the FATF during its plenary meetings in June and October of 2025, which saw several countries removed from the “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” list.
The Commission remarked, “The EU has included new jurisdictions to the list (Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands) while also delisting several others (including Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania).”
This delisting is also expected to enhance Nigeria’s appeal to foreign investors, who have been wary due to reputational and regulatory concerns tied to its previous high-risk status.
Although an official statement from the Presidency is still pending, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, has expressed her enthusiasm regarding this development, calling it a significant victory for Nigeria.
In a post on X, she conveyed, “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.”
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