NFIU Moves to Establish Joint Platform with Banks, Fintechs to Tackle Illicit Finance

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) says it has begun working with financial institutions and other stakeholders to develop a framework for sharing financial intelligence to tackle illicit financial activities.

The initiative, known as the joint financial intelligence collaboration (JFIC), was discussed at a stakeholder engagement organised by the NFIU with support from the British high commission in Nigeria and the Convention for Business Integrity (CBi).

The engagement brought together regulators, banks, insurance companies, fintechs, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), technology firms and other stakeholders to determine how the proposed public-private collaboration would operate and strengthen responses to emerging financial threats.

According to a statement on Thursday, the NFIU said the JFIC would provide a platform for public and private sector institutions to share intelligence, identify emerging threats and disrupt illicit financial networks.

Speaking at the engagement, Hafsat Bakari, the chief executive officer of the NFIU, represented by Felix Obiamalu, general counsel of the unit, said the engagement marked a shift from discussions about the initiative to its design and implementation.

“We have moved from dialogue to design, to commitment and implementation,” Bakari said.

“The objective is no longer simply to discuss the concept. It is to jointly determine what this partnership should look like, how it should operate, what value it should create and how it can be sustained over time.”

Jehanzeb Khan, the illicit financial flows officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), who represented the British High Commission, said stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors is important in tackling illicit financial flows.

On his part, Olusoji Apampa, managing director of CBi, said the process was designed to give the private sector a central role in shaping the proposed framework.

This, he said, would ensure that the initiative reflects operational realities and has broad stakeholder ownership.

Xolisile Khanyile, former chair of the Egmont Group and former director of South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre, said private-sector participation in combating financial crime should be treated as a national responsibility.

“Trust, shared ownership and collaboration are the foundations of every successful public-private partnership,” Khanyile said.

She urged Nigeria to adopt a practical and phased approach to implementing the initiative, describing it as timely given the country’s role in the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.