The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, has said the removal of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list would be beneficial to the Nigerian capital market.
Recall that last Friday, FATF announced the exit of Nigeria from its grey list of countries with deficiencies in Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) regimes.
According to the Paris-based body, Nigeria, alongside South Africa, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso, have addressed the shortfalls on these issues. For Nigeria, it has worked on its inter-agency coordination.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, the Director General of the capital market regulator said the development would boost investor confidence, noting that they would realise the federal government’s efforts to strengthen the nation’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.
He explained that the development would chart a new course for the country, boost the nation’s economy, and that foreign investors would be attracted to Africa’s most populous nation.
“It means so much for us in the capital market; it means so much for us in the financial system. It brings about something that we have been craving for, investor confidence.
“The release of Nigeria from the FATF grey list means that investors confidence would be boosted. Delisting from that grey list sends a very strong signal to investors and trading partners that Nigeria has made significant progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and countering of financing of terrorism regulations.
“That is very significant in the space of financial investment. For Nigerians as a whole, this is welcome call to new investments into our economy and boosting of the economy in terms of productivity,” the DG stated.
In February 2023, Nigeria was placed on the grey list after the FATF identified strategic deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) systems.
Now, more than two years later, the FATF has removed Nigeria from the list following the country’s successful implementation of a 19-point action plan aimed at strengthening its AML/CFT framework.
President Bola Tinubu in a statement on Friday, described the development as “a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards economic reform, institutional integrity and global credibility.”