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Tax crimes and fraud accounted for 51 percent of financial crime intelligence reports disseminated by the NFIU in 2025, making them the two largest offence categories.
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Banks dominated suspicious transaction reporting, submitting 38,715 of the 42,082 STRs received by the NFIU, representing about 92 percent of total reports.
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The NFIU received more than 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports in 2025, even as suspicious transaction reports fell by 48.8 percent from the previous year.
August 24, (THEWILL) — Tax crimes and fraud accounted for more than half of the financial crime intelligence reports disseminated by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to law enforcement and regulatory authorities in 2025, while banks remained the dominant source of suspicious transaction reports.
The figures were contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which provides an overview of financial crime risks, reporting activity and intelligence generated from Nigeria’s financial system.
The report showed that tax crimes accounted for 30 percent of intelligence reports across the top 10 designated offences, making it the largest category, while fraud represented 21 percent.
Together, the two offences accounted for 51 percent of the intelligence reports covered by the NFIU’s top 10 categories.
Money laundering accounted for another 15 percent, followed by illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances at 10 percent. Bribery and corruption and terrorism, including terrorist financing, each accounted for 8 percent.
NFIU disseminates 3,431 intelligence reports
The NFIU said it disseminated 1,398 proactive intelligence reports to domestic competent authorities in 2025, while another 2,033 reactive intelligence reports were produced in response to requests from competent authorities.
Proactive reports are generated from analysis of disclosures submitted by reporting entities and international counterparts, as well as information obtained from other intelligence sources.
Reactive reports provide additional financial information to support investigations, including tracing assets, identifying proceeds of crime and uncovering criminal networks.
The NFIU said fraud remained a major predicate offence, with emerging risks involving Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding arrangements, cryptocurrency-enabled investment scams and hacking-related fraud.
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Banks account for 92 percent of suspicious reports
Reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the NFIU during the year.
Deposit Money Banks accounted for 38,715 of the reports, representing about 92 percent of the total. Other Financial Institutions submitted 2,185 STRs, while Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions filed 1,029.
Capital market operators and insurance companies submitted 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers filed 49.
Banks also accounted for the largest share of the 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports received during the year, contributing 8,313 filings.
More than 41 million transactions reported
The NFIU received 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports in 2025, with Deposit Money Banks accounting for 37.2 million, or about 89 percent of the filings.
However, suspicious reporting declined sharply from the previous year. STRs fell from 82,143 in 2024 to 42,082 in 2025, representing a 48.8 percent decline, while Suspicious Activity Reports dropped from 23,364 to 10,513, a decline of about 55 percent.
The decline contrasts with the large volume of transactions and compliance reports generated across Nigeria’s financial system.
The NFIU said strengthening financial intelligence, improving reporting compliance and deepening cooperation among regulators and law enforcement agencies remain critical to identifying and disrupting financial crime.
The findings also come amid wider concerns over illicit financial flows from Nigeria and Africa. Minister of State for Finance Doris Uzoka-Anite has estimated that Nigeria loses about $17.72 billion annually to illicit financial flows.
The figures highlight the continuing challenge of detecting suspicious activity within Nigeria’s vast financial system, while ensuring that financial intelligence generated from millions of transactions translates into effective investigations and enforcement.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
