The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria has partnered with the Nigeria Customs Service to remove the country from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.
Both organisations made this announcement over the weekend during a briefing after Messrs. FAAN Managing Director, Olubunmi Kuku, and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, toured the international wing of the Lagos airport.
FATF is the global body established in 1995 to lead international action to combat money laundering, terrorism, and proliferation financing.
On February 24, 2023, Nigeria was placed on the FATF Grey List due to increased capital inflows and deficiencies in combating money laundering, terrorism, and arms financing.
Since then, concerned agencies have been channelling efforts toward exiting Nigeria from the indicting list.
Aside from attempting to delist Nigeria from the grey list, both Kuku and Adeniyi also said they are on a mission to enhance passenger and cargo facilitation at the airport.
FAAN recently deployed advanced screening technologies, e-gate systems, to enhance the security and safety of airport users.
The FAAN boss reiterated that passengers arriving or departing Nigeria are required by law to declare any amount exceeding $10,000 and that additional measures are being reinforced at arrival points to monitor compliance more effectively.
“There is a shared determination to rid our entry and exit points of illegal financial transactions. We are working closely to get Nigeria off the grey list with other agencies of government to curb any sort of money laundering and illicit financial activities across our borders.
Both agencies are working closely together on currency declaration, not just on departure but also on arrival,” Kuku stated.
She further said that the renewed collaboration with the NCS is a testament to the inter-agency synergy aimed at improving passengers’ experience and trade facilitation at the airports.
She stressed, “Our collaboration with Customs, particularly on currency declaration and enhanced security screening, is a significant step in safeguarding our borders and improving Nigeria’s global standing.”
Kuku added that FAAN had secured a commitment from the customs boss to reduce the number of officers interfacing with passengers at the airports while taking advantage of the automated screening process.
On his part, Adeniyi disclosed that Nigeria is expecting the FATF team in a matter of weeks, saying the renewed collaboration with FAAN was part of the measures to exit Nigeria from the global financial watch list.
He expressed satisfaction with the provision of designated rooms for currency declaration by arriving and departing passengers even as he commenced the regular announcement, reminding passengers of the need to declare currency above $10,000 in their possession.
Adeniyi said, “On the issue of exiting Nigeria from the grey list of FATF, I am quite satisfied with the measures that have been put in place by FAAN. These measures include the provision of designated places where currency declarations can be made.
As we strive to remove Nigeria from this list, the Nigeria Customs Service has advanced its efforts by automating its processes. Ultimately, we would be hoping to merge our form with the passenger declaration form and passenger arrival form issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service.
“We are expecting the inspection team of the FATF in a matter of weeks in Nigeria, and we believe that we have put in place enough measures to get them satisfied and remove Nigeria from the list, but more importantly, our meeting today has created a platform for us to deepen collaboration and continue the conversations that would help us to address whatever issues and disagreements we have.”
