EU removes Nigeria, five African countries from money laundering list

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 reportedly follows the countries’ successful removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list after 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.

Countries on the list typically face increased monitoring and scrutiny by the task force.

According to Business Insider Africa, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that the affected countries had addressed “strategic deficiencies” in their financial systems and now meet international standards set by the FATF.

The commission said the reforms implemented by the countries were sufficient to warrant their removal from the EU’s financial high-risk list.

With enhanced due diligence requirements set to be lifted from January 29, the delisting is expected to ease trade and payment flows, reduce transaction costs, and boost investor confidence in the affected economies.

Reacting to the development on Thursday, Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of state for finance, 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.

“As minister of state for finance, I’m proud of this boost to trade and investor confidence.”