Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says consultations are ongoing “at the highest levels” for the country to exit the “grey list” – an anti-money laundering watchlist of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF).
The development comes 24 hours after the Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit (NFIU) announced that FATF had approved the country’s fourth
progress report since Nigeria was placed under watch.
The FATF had included Nigeria and South Africa on its grey
list on February 24, 2024.
Countries on the list are often subjected to increased
monitoring and need to intensify efforts to tackle money laundering and
terrorism financing, according to the task force.
The FATF said the inclusion of a jurisdiction to its grey
list means that the country has committed to resolve identified strategic
deficiencies within agreed timeframes swiftly.
The organisation is an intergovernmental policy-making body
that seeks to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Speaking to journalists in Washington DC on Saturday,
Cardoso, said removing Nigeria from the grey list has been critical in his
engagement during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank.
“I would like to emphasise that we are consulting at the
highest levels to remove Nigeria from FAFT grey lists, a key topic in our
recent engagement,” he said.
‘WE’VE ACHIEVED
INCREASED TRANSPARENCY, IMPROVED FX SUPPLY’
Speaking on ongoing monetary policy efforts, Cardoso said
since his team assumed office a year ago, there has been a focus on addressing
inflation, restoring investor confidence in the financial markets, and
stabilising the exchange rate.
He said the apex bank also focused on enhancing financial
systems provision, fostering financial inclusion, and enhancing transparency
“in our monetary policy decisions and communications”.
“We embarked upon bold and necessary reforms to return to
the path of monetary policy orthodoxy, as well as remove observed distortions
in the foreign exchange market,” the CBN governor said.
“Our efforts have yielded significant progress as volatility
in the foreign exchange market has abated immeasurably, and remittances have
also increased significantly.
“We have achieved increased transparency and improved
overall supply in the foreign exchange market, leading to reduced arbitrage and
speculative activities and eliminated the fund loading of foreign exchange
demand.”
On October 8, the CBN reaffirmed its commitment to
maintaining a stable financial system while ensuring the safety of depositors’
funds.
The bank also announced the introduction of an electronic
foreign exchange matching system (EFEMS) to reduce speculative activities,
eliminate market distortions and “give the CBN improved oversight capabilities
to effectively regulate the market”.
The system is expected to be implemented on December 1.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com