The Federal Government has raised alarm over the growing use of real estate, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and luxury goods as conduits for money laundering and other illicit financial activities in Nigeria.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who was represented by Chief State Counsel, Chika Nnanna, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a one-day roundtable conference on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Framework for Combating Financial Crimes in Nigeria.
The event was organised by Pattison Consulting in partnership with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the British High Commission.
Fagbemi warned that while the government has tightened laws and policies on anti-money laundering, criminals are increasingly exploiting new channels, especially the property market, charities, and professional services.
“Criminal proceeds are laundered through real estate, luxury goods, and even charities. These sectors, if left unchecked, could become safe havens for illicit funds,” he said.
He said that traditional methods of fighting financial crimes were no longer sufficient, stressing the need for a coordinated public-private partnership model to curb money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.
The Attorney-General also flagged data protection concerns as a key challenge to intelligence sharing, insisting that new legal frameworks must strike a balance between information exchange and the protection of citizens’ privacy rights.
Speaking in the same vein, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, represented by Babatunde Bamigboye, pledged the agency’s readiness to collaborate with the NFIU and other stakeholders in safeguarding personal data while enhancing intelligence sharing.
“Trust is the crucial factor. Nigerians must be assured that their personal data will be processed lawfully and transparently. At NDPC, we are ready to partner with relevant agencies to ensure that privacy is not compromised in the fight against money laundering,” Olatunji said.
On his part, General Counsel of the NFIU, Felix Obiamalu, while speaking with the Guardian, clarified that the Attorney-General’s remarks were not an indictment of the entire real estate or NGO sector but a call for stronger regulation.
“Real estate, luxury businesses, casinos, and NGOs are vulnerable to abuse. This does not mean every realtor or NGO is guilty of money laundering. What it means is that these sectors are easily exploited and must therefore be more tightly regulated,” Obiamalu explained.
He further stressed that the rapid growth in real estate development across Nigerian cities is not solely linked to illicit funds but largely reflects economic realities.
“Abuja and other major cities are expanding, and there is a genuine demand for housing because shelter is a basic human need. The rise in the number of real estate companies cannot be interpreted simply as evidence of money laundering. Many are legitimate businesses meeting social and economic demands. However, we must remain vigilant to ensure the sector is not hijacked by criminal actors,” he added.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, in her welcome remarks, noted that Nigeria’s financial system remains under international scrutiny, urging stakeholders to strengthen collaboration to avoid returning to the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
“No single institution, whether public or private, can combat the scale and sophistication of financial crimes alone. A structured PPP will help us bridge the gap between policy and implementation,” she said.
