Banks, fintech companies and other reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025, according to the agency’s latest annual report.
The figure represents a 48.8 per cent decline from the 82,143 STRs recorded in 2024, amid increased regulatory scrutiny and efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance across Nigeria’s financial system.
The NFIU report showed that it received 41.72 million Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) during the year.
Deposit Money Banks accounted for the overwhelming majority of STRs, filing 38,715 reports, representing about 92 per cent of the total.
Other Financial Institutions submitted 2,185 STRs, while Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions filed 1,029. Capital market operators and insurance companies accounted for 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers, including cryptocurrency firms, filed 49.
Banks also dominated Suspicious Activity Reports, submitting 8,313 of the 10,513 SARs received by the NFIU.
Other Financial Institutions accounted for 1,816 SARs, while capital market and insurance companies filed 295. Virtual Asset Service Providers submitted 89, while no SAR was recorded from the DNFBP sector.
Despite the decline in suspicious reports, Currency Transaction Reports rose sharply during the year.
The NFIU received 41,716,214 CTRs in 2025, representing a 61.6 per cent increase from the 25,819,719 recorded in 2024.
Deposit Money Banks contributed 37,214,139 of the reports, while Other Financial Institutions filed 4,212,466. Capital market and insurance companies accounted for 289,296, while VASPs submitted 313.
The agency attributed the reports to statutory disclosure requirements under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
Under Section 11 of the law, financial institutions are required to report transactions above N5 million for individuals and N10 million for legal entities within seven days.
They are also required to report incoming and outgoing transfers exceeding $10,000 within 24 hours.
Quarterly figures showed that STRs filed by banks increased consistently during 2025, rising from 9,134 in the first quarter to 9,658 in the second, 9,891 in the third and 10,032 in the fourth quarter.
Banks’ CTR filings also climbed from 7.04 million in the first quarter to 11.09 million in the fourth quarter.
The report showed increasing participation by Virtual Asset Service Providers in the reporting regime. VASPs filed no STRs during the first half of the year but submitted 17 in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth.
The sector also recorded 28 SARs in the first quarter, 12 in the second, 24 in the third and 25 in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, reports involving Politically Exposed Persons rose by 31.1 per cent, from 21.47 million in 2024 to 28.13 million in 2025.
Banks accounted for most PEP reports, while Other Financial Institutions recorded a significant increase during the year.
The NFIU also reported increased compliance monitoring, including joint on-site examinations of 29 entities operating in sectors such as real estate, casinos, precious metals and stones, and consultancy services in the Federal Capital Territory.
The exercise resulted in 20 new registrations on the RapidAML portal and subscriptions to NIGSAC, alongside 1,029 STR filings.
The contrasting figures show a major shift in reporting patterns during 2025: while threshold-based transaction and PEP disclosures increased substantially, suspicious transaction and activity reports fell significantly.
The development comes as financial regulators move towards greater automation of anti-money laundering controls.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had proposed new standards in 2025 requiring regulated financial institutions to deploy intelligent AML systems capable of real-time transaction monitoring, anomaly detection, risk scoring and behavioural analysis.
The proposed framework also envisages the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect suspicious patterns involving large cash transactions, cross-border transfers and cryptocurrency activities.
Financial institutions are also expected to integrate their AML systems with core banking, customer onboarding and transaction-processing platforms, while automating regulatory reports to the NFIU.
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