The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) met to discuss plans for the creation and execution of Project Exit: Upgrade of NFIU Data Management System and Compliance Platform, a crucial step in resolving Nigeria’s financial issues and furthering its digital transformation agenda.
The initiative which was announced by NITDA on Friday, is as a result of the Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) of Nigeria, which found serious gaps in statistical analysis and data availability that impede a thorough understanding of the country’s Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing risks as well as the efficacy of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework.
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Nigeria was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List, a designation that has far-reaching implications for the country’s economic stability, international financial markets, and reputation.
To address this, the NFIU requested and was granted permission by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for NITDA to lead the improvement of the current AML/CFT/CPF Data Management Framework.
Goals of the project
The following goals are intended to be accomplished by the project: Obtain FATF compliance so that Nigeria can be taken off the Grey List and international trust can be restored; By using automation, intelligence integration, and scalability, NFIU can increase its operational capacity in AML/CFT/CPF Data Management;
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To guarantee the data management platform’s long-term functionality and assist future FATF mutual evaluations and other international assessments, a strong and durable structure must be established; Establish Nigeria as a world leader in AML/CFT and financial intelligence, establishing standards for other countries.
The partnership is expected to use cutting-edge technology to fortify Nigeria’s financial intelligence infrastructure and raise its profile in international financial systems in order to close the holes found in the MER.
Hon Adedeji Olajide, Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology and Cybersecurity; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of NITDA; Barrister Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, Chief Executive Officer of NFIU; and senior management personnel from both organisations were present.