The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, has said Nigeria may soon exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
This came following the signing of the Investments and Securities Act 2025 by President Bola Tinubu.
According to a statement from the SEC on Wednesday, Agama said this while speaking during an interview in Abuja.
The statement noted that Agama said the inclusion of digital assets regulation in the new Act provides a pathway for the country to address long-standing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes.
“It may interest you to know that the AML/CFT issue is what brought about our inclusion in the grey list.
“The inclusion of this law today provides us an avenue to exit that grey list, and that is very critical to the international community. We are telling the international community that we are ready for business and we are ready to protect every business that operates within Nigeria and all those involved in such activities within Nigeria,” Agama said.
Nigeria was placed on the FATF grey list on February 24, 2023, over identified weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.
Countries on the list are subject to increased monitoring until they resolve the deficiencies.
Agama stated that the new law empowers the Commission to properly regulate the digital asset space and clamp down on unregulated entities, thereby improving investor confidence and safeguarding national interests.
“This SEC now has the power to clamp down on such entities. So, we encourage everyone who is in this space to come under regulation, to seek clearance, to seek guidance for whatever reason, and we are ready and able to provide solid guidance so that at least the national economic interest is truly protected,” he said.
“The essence of regulating is to provide fences around the institutions, the products, the persons involved in it, and to make sure that they do not involved in things that are illegal.”
The SEC boss also dismissed claims that cryptocurrency trading automatically weakens the naira, noting instead that regulation would provide a safe operating environment for stakeholders and support economic growth.
He added that the Commission is working in collaboration with relevant government agencies to ensure the effective regulation of digital assets.
