Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre Commends Nigeria’s Anti-Money Laundering Efforts During Abuja Visit

opeolumartinOctober 13, 202505 mins

Abuja, Nigeria – October 9, 2025

The Director General of Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), Saitoti Kimerei Maika, has praised Nigeria’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its strategic implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) frameworks.

Speaking through James Manyonge, Director of Legal Compliance and External Relations at Kenya’s FRC, Maika expressed his admiration on Thursday, October 9, 2025, during a study visit by the Kenyan delegation to SCUML’s office in Abuja. The frameworks followed by Nigeria align with the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2022, both of which comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) international standards.

Maika highlighted SCUML’s resilience and unwavering commitment in executing the AML/CFT frameworks as exemplary. He emphasized the importance of the visit for his team to understand the secret behind Nigeria’s success, particularly seeking collaboration to strengthen the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing across the Sahel region.
A key focus of the visit was to gain insights into Nigeria’s supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs)—sectors recognized as vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing. Maika explained, “In Kenya, as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), we have many roles. We receive and analyze suspicious transaction reports and disseminate intelligence to law enforcement agencies. One of our challenges is regulating the DNFBPs sector. We are here to learn from Nigeria’s experience in this area.”
Professor Abdullahi Shehu, former Head of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), underscored the importance of the visit. He noted the DNFBPs sector poses regulatory challenges for Kenya, and the Kenyan delegation’s purpose was to benefit from Nigeria’s pioneering efforts. “SCUML was the first initiative in Africa to create a specialized unit to regulate and supervise DNFBPs. This innovation earned Nigeria a largely compliant rating by FATF in 2008 and set a continental precedent. Kenya stands to learn much from this experience,” he said.

Chinedum Odenyi, Divisional Head of Legal and Head of the National Coordination Office at Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), noted that the Kenyan team engaged with various Nigerian stakeholders involved in AML/CFT efforts. “Their interest lies in understanding how Nigeria unified law enforcement agencies and brought all stakeholders together—crucial steps toward exiting the FATF grey list,” Odenyi said.
Deputy Commander of the EFCC and SCUML Director, DCE Harry Erin, who represented EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, warmly welcomed the Kenyan delegation. Erin assured the visitors that Nigeria would share its knowledge openly, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the study tour.

This visit marks a significant step in strengthening regional cooperation against financial crimes and fostering knowledge exchange between Nigeria and Kenya, both committed to upholding global standards in combating money laundering and terrorism financing.