Deposit Money Banks accounted for about 92 per cent of suspicious transaction reports received by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025, despite an overall decline in such reports compared with the previous year.
The NFIU disclosed this in its 2025 Annual Report, which showed that reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) during the year.
Banks accounted for 38,715 of the reports, followed by Other Financial Institutions with 2,185 and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions with 1,029.
Capital market operators and insurance companies submitted 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers, including cryptocurrency-related businesses, filed 49.
The agency also received 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and more than 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) in 2025.
Banks similarly dominated the SAR filings, submitting 8,313 reports, while Other Financial Institutions accounted for 1,816. Capital market and insurance companies filed 295, while VASPs submitted 89. The DNFBP sector recorded no SAR during the year.
For CTRs, Deposit Money Banks submitted 37.2 million reports, representing about 89.2 per cent of the total. Other Financial Institutions accounted for 4.21 million, while capital market and insurance companies filed 289,296 and VASPs 313.
The NFIU said the reporting framework covers threshold-based transactions, suspicious transactions and activities, as well as regulatory submissions relating to anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing.
It said it works with regulators including the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering to ensure compliance by reporting entities.
The report showed that bank-filed STRs increased steadily throughout 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.
However, overall STR filings fell sharply year-on-year. The NFIU received 82,143 reports in 2024 compared with 42,082 in 2025, representing a decline of about 48.8 per cent.
SAR filings also fell by roughly 55 per cent, dropping from 23,364 in 2024 to 10,513 in 2025.
The report further showed increased reporting activity involving politically exposed persons, with 28.13 million PEP-related reports submitted during the year.
The NFIU said its Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Division also conducted joint inspections of 29 reporting entities in the Federal Capital Territory, covering sectors including real estate, casinos, precious metals and stones, and consultancy.
The exercise resulted in 20 new registrations on the RapidAML portal and subscriptions to NIGSAC, while entities in the sector submitted 1,029 suspicious transaction reports.
The agency also recorded increased reporting activity from virtual asset service providers during the second half of the year, with STRs rising from zero in the first half to 17 in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth.
Under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, the NFIU said financial institutions are required to report transactions above N5m for individuals and N10m for legal entities within seven days.
It added that incoming and outgoing transfers exceeding $10,000 must be reported within 24 hours.
The figures indicate that while the volume of threshold-based transaction and PEP reports remained high in 2025, reports specifically identifying suspicious transactions and activities dropped substantially from the previous year.
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