EU Removes Nigeria, Five Other African Countries from High-Risk Money Laundering List

T The European Union (EU) has removed Nigeria and 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 successful removal of the affected countries 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 grey list of countries with deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes, citing significant progress in addressing identified gaps.

According to Business Insider Africa, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that the countries had addressed “strategic deficiencies” 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 the delisting, enhanced due diligence requirements imposed on financial transactions involving the affected countries are expected to be lifted from January 29. Analysts say the move will ease trade and payment flows, reduce transaction costs, and boost investor confidence in the economies concerned.

Reacting to the development, the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, described Nigeria’s removal from the list as a major milestone.

“Big win for Nigeria! Removed from EU’s financial ‘high-risk’ list! Congrats to President Bola Tinubu on this achievement,” she wrote on X.
Uzoka-Anite added, “As minister of state for finance, I’m proud of this boost to trade and investor confidence.”