At last, Egmont Group lifts suspension on Nigeria
The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units has lifted its suspension of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, during its 25th plenary in Sidney, Australia.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, Hon Kayode Oladele, confirmed the development to The Daily Times on Thursday night.
The Egmont Group is a global body of 155 financial intelligence units across the world which facilitates the exchange of financial intelligence, expertise and capability. The intelligence units combat money laundering, terrorism financing and serious financial crime.
The group had suspended NFIU, an arm of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after its plenary in Macao, China, on July 2, 2017.
The group had suspended Nigeria as a result of its lack of a legal framework and autonomy.
Speaking on the issue on Wednesday, Hon Oladele said the suspension was announced at the ongoing plenary of Egmont in Australia, after Nigerian authorities fulfilled the requirements.
He said: “After the suspension was announced in 2017, Nigeria’s membership of the Financial Action Task Forces was also suspended. Consequently, we introduced the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency bill in the National Assembly which was passed. After the passage, we had a conference committee meeting which worked on the grey areas.
“We now have the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit law, which means that we have complied with the international directives and given a legal framework to the NFIU.
After the submission of the law to the Egmont Group, a fact-finding mission was sent to Nigeria earlier in September 2018 and the team paid an unscheduled visit to the NFIU office in Abuja.
“Members of the team inspected all our facilities and they were impressed. So, at the meeting on Wednesday in Sydney, the report was tabled before the plenary and the suspension was lifted.”
In its website, Egmont said it would continue to support the efforts of its international partners and other stakeholders to give effect to the resolutions and statements by the United Nations Security Council, the G-20 Finance Ministers, and the Financial Action Task Force.
