The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) received more than 28.1 million reports on transactions involving Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in 2025, highlighting the scale of financial institutions’ compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The NFIU, in its 2025 Annual Report, disclosed that reporting entities submitted a total of 28,133,909 PEP-related reports during the year.
The agency said the reports formed part of periodic regulatory disclosures required from financial institutions and other reporting entities to strengthen monitoring of transactions involving individuals considered politically exposed.
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) accounted for the overwhelming majority of the reports, submitting 7,263,557 reports in the first quarter, 5,658,079 in the second quarter, 6,235,585 in the third quarter and 8,225,572 in the fourth quarter.
Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) submitted 12 reports in the first quarter, 692 in the second, 104,565 in the third and 617,286 in the fourth quarter.
Capital Market Intermediaries (CMIs), meanwhile, submitted 3,986 reports in the first quarter, 17,016 in the second, 3,345 in the third and 4,214 in the fourth quarter.
Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) recorded no PEP-related reports during the period.
The NFIU said the volume of reporting reflected extensive compliance activity and the continued monitoring of transactions associated with PEPs.
Beyond PEP-related disclosures, the agency said it received various reports, including threshold-based disclosures, suspicious transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, as well as regulatory submissions relating to the enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) measures.
The NFIU disclosed that it received 41,716,214 Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs), 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) during the review period.
It said it worked closely with designated supervisory authorities, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML), to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
The disclosures come against the backdrop of the NFIU’s growing concerns over sophisticated methods allegedly being used by terrorist financiers to conceal illicit funds.
The agency identified the use of deceased persons’ bank accounts and telephone numbers, proxy accounts opened in women’s names, fraudulent crowdfunding networks, pre-registered SIM cards and digital fintech platforms as emerging threats.
According to the NFIU, criminal networks also exploit gaps between SIM registration and Bank Verification Number records to obscure the identities of individuals controlling illicit funds.
The agency urged stronger identity verification, improved monitoring of fintech platforms and enhanced information sharing among financial institutions, telecommunications companies, regulators and security agencies.
It said intelligence gathered from these reports had been converted into targeted advisories, executive alerts and strategic intelligence products to support investigations and policy responses.
The NFIU stressed that continuous adaptation would be required to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated financial crime and terrorist financing techniques.
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