Nigerian banks accounted for 92 per cent of all suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in 2025, while tax crimes and frauds made up 51 per cent of intelligence reports.

The NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report shows that banks, fintechs, and other reporting entities filed 42,082 STRs during the year, a sharp decline from more than 82,000 in 2024.

Deposit money banks (DMBs) accounted for 38,715 filings, followed by other financial institutions at 2,185. Designated non-financial businesses and professions accounted for 1,029; capital market and insurance operators accounted for 104, while virtual asset service providers recorded 49.

Banks also accounted for 8,313 of the 10,513 SAR received by the NFIU. The agency recorded 41.72 million currency transaction reports and 28.1 million reports involving politically exposed persons, representing a 31 per cent increase from 2024.

Tax crimes accounted for the largest share of the NFIU’s top 10 designated offences at 30 per cent, followed by fraud at 21 per cent. Money laundering accounted for 15 per cent, illegal drug trafficking (10 per cent), while bribery and corruption and terrorism-related offences accounted for eight per cent each.

Illegal currency exchange and organised crime made up three per cent each, while human trafficking and migrant smuggling accounted for one per cent each.
The NFIU disseminated 3,431 domestic intelligence reports during the year, comprising 1,398 proactive and 2,033 reactive reports, to support investigations by law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

The agency warned of growing exposure to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding, cryptocurrency-related investment scams and hacking, saying digital platforms have made it easier for fraudsters to recruit victims and move funds through multiple channels.

It identified weaknesses in Nigeria’s identification systems as another avenue being exploited by terrorist financiers. It said facilitators increasingly use pre-registered SIM cards, SIMs registered to deceased persons and proxy accounts to conceal the identities of those controlling transactions.

According to the NFIU, some accounts are opened in the names of wives, sisters or female associates, while male commanders retain the ATM cards, mobile banking credentials and PINs. The agency described the practice as “identity laundering”, as it makes it difficult to link suspicious transactions to the actual individuals controlling the funds.

The findings come as financial regulators step up measures to strengthen monitoring of suspicious transactions.

On August 12, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed all capital market-regulated entities to subscribe to the Nigeria Sanctions (NigSac) Alerts system, requiring firms to freeze assets linked to designated persons and report such transactions to the NFIU.