NFIU bill scales second reading at Senate

The Nigerian Senate passed for third reading the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency.

At plenary on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, the bill was referred to the committee on anti-corruption, chaired by Senator Chukwuka Utazi.

The committee will present its report to the Senate on Wednesday, July 26, 2017.

The Senate had on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, resolved to pass a law to establish a substantive and autonomous Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), following the suspension of Nigeria from the EGMONT Group.

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The EGMONT Group is a network of 152 member countries that share information relating to criminal intelligence and financial investigations that deal with money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation of arms, corruption, financial and economic crimes.

Nigeria was suspended from this group for not having an independent Financial Intelligence Unit.

In the event of an eventual expulsion — following its current suspension — Nigeria will no longer be able to benefit from the financial intelligence shared by the other 152 member countries, which includes the United States and the United Kingdom, and therefore will significantly hamper its ability to recover stolen funds that are allegedly stashed abroad.