The European Union (EU) has officially removed Nigeria from its list of high-risk jurisdictions for money laundering and terrorism financing.
This is according to a statement published on the European Commission’s website.
South Africa alongside four other African countries were also removed from the list.
Nigeria’s removal from the list follows the country’s successful removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in 2025.
The move is likely to bring about relief in cross-border transactions, reduce compliance costs, and improve investor confidence.
Under the new decision, enhanced due diligence requirements applied to transactions involving Nigeria and other delisted countries will be lifted from January 29, 2026, subject to procedural approval by the European Parliament and the Council.
According to the EU, the update reflects decisions taken by the FATF at its June and October 2025 plenaries, where several countries were removed from the list of “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring,” commonly referred to as the greylist.
“The EU has added new third-country jurisdictions to the list (Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands) and delisted a number of others (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania),” it stated.
EU entities covered by the bloc’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework are required to apply enhanced vigilance when dealing with countries on the list.
With Nigeria’s removal, such heightened scrutiny will no longer apply to Nigerian-related transactions within the EU once the regulation enters into force.
