Naira gains after Nigeria removed from financial crime watchlist

…seen spurring FDI into the country

…to improve sovereign credit ratings

The naira has seen slight gains since the delisting of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Friday.

“It means a whole lot. Naira and Rand have gained almost one percent since the news. It is now N1490 in the parallel market,” Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, said.

The FATF announced the delisting at its Plenary in Paris, France, today. The FATF is the world’s foremost standard-setting body for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

“ This is a big deal because it opens up the country for FDI and engagement from the West, especially,” Tayo Oviosu, CEO of Paga said.

Read also: Nigeria’s exit from FATF grey list excites Tinubu

This decision follows Nigeria’s successful and timely completion of its FATF Action Plan, marking over two years of sustained effort, reform and inter-agency coordination aimed at strengthening the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

“Well, first it’s a well done to CBN, NFIU and EFFC for doing the hard work to get us back into compliance,” Tayo Aduloju, CEO of NESG said.

In February 2023, the FATF placed Nigeria on the grey list. The message from the global community was clear: the nation needed more vigorous enforcement, better coordination, and greater transparency. Rather than treat this as a setback, Nigeria viewed it as a call to action.