The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is ramping up efforts to combat financial crimes through advanced technology and enhanced collaboration as part of its drive to remove Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
Speaking at a high-level conference organized in partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Risk Intelligence, in Lagos on Thursday, NFIU’s General Counsel, Felix Obiamalu, revealed that the agency had established a special unit, “Emerging Technologies and Innovations sector” dedicated to integrating cutting-edge tools into its operations.
Obiamalu explained that the NFIU was automating processes and developing software to monitor and track financial crimes. “Criminals continuously exploit gaps in the system, but we are upgrading our capabilities and working with global software developers to stay ahead,” he said.
“The LSEG Risk Intelligence also have sophisticated technology tools that we can also leverage to combat this financial crime.”
Since being greylisted in February 2023 due to deficiencies identified during FATF’s mutual evaluation process, Obiamalu stressed that relevant stakeholders were working relentlessly.
