By By Chinedu James
Egmont Group
Few weeks after former President, Olusegun Obansanjo issued a statement on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, stating his dissatisfaction with his government and advising President Buhari not to contest the 2019 elections, Nigeria’s Financial Unit (NFIU) is set to be expelled from the Egmont Group by March 2018. Experts say this could affect the issuance of Mastercard and Visa credit/ debit cards by Nigerian banks.
Nigerian generals and the economy
Nigeria’s acceptance into the global finance sector was under the watch of ex-president Obasanjo which opened opportunities for Nigerian banks to be part of the international financial market, an expulsion next month would throw the banks into abyss and further widen the dispute gaps between Nigeria’s warring generals.
The Egmont Group is a united body of 155 Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The Group provides a platform for the secure exchange of expertise and financial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF).
Nigeria struggled to join the group after many years in 2007. Its eventual admittance remains one of former President Obasanjo’s achievements. The membership ensured the removal of Nigerian banks from the blacklist of international finance, a situation which might repeat itself if adequate steps are not taken to ward off the threat of expulsion.
Meddling by EFCC
The Egmont Group had earlier suspended Nigeria in July 2017 at its 24th plenary of the Heads of the FIUs in Macao, citing intrusion and meddling of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the workings of the NFIU as well as the commission’s use of confidential intelligence at the disposal of the country’s FIU to blackmail individuals who were politically exposed, as the NFIU failed to protect “confidential information, specifically related to the status of suspicious transaction report (STR) details and information derived from international exchanges”. This is however against the laws of the group. The body had asked Nigeria to amend the law and make the NFIU autonomous and independent.
According to the FIUs, Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is violating Recommendation 29 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards that stipulates that the FIU must remain independent and devoid of any form of interference.
“The Heads of FIU made a decision, by consensus, to suspend the membership status of the NFIU, Nigeria, following repeated failures on the part of the FIU to address concerns regarding the protection of confidential information, specifically related to the status of suspicious transaction report (STR) details and information derived from international exchanges, as well as concerns on the legal basis and clarity of the NFIU’s independence from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The measure will remain in force until immediate corrective actions are implemented,” the body had said while announcing the consensus decision to suspend Nigeria last year.
Autonomy Law for NFIU
The senate had passed the bill granting the NFIU autonomy few days after the suspension and this move immediately caused the rescission of the suspension but the implementation still remains unclear as it seems the NFIU is still under the control of the government.
A proposal to permanently expel Nigeria from the Egmont Group is on the agenda of the Egmont Working Group and Heads of FIU meeting to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between March 2 and 7. If the expulsion holds, it holds dire consequences for Nigeria’s financial sector. It will disallow Nigeria from benefitting from financial intelligence shared by the other 153 member countries, including the US and the UK. The country’s ability to recover stolen funds abroad will be in jeopardy.
Obasanjo is angry
Those close to former President Obasanjo said he is enraged by the development. In his well-publicized treatise to President Buhari, the former president claims: “I knew President Buhari before he became President and said that he is weak in the knowledge and understanding of the economy but I thought that he could make use of good Nigerians in that area that could help;” adding: “I know his weakness in understanding and playing in the foreign affairs sector.”
But insiders in Abuja say government is making moves to address the threat from the Egmont Group and is likely to meet the conditions before the deadline.
