Nigeria and the United Kingdom have agreed to strengthen cooperation among law enforcement agencies, financial regulators and private-sector institutions to identify, investigate and disrupt illicit financial flows and other cross-border financial crimes threatening the integrity of their economies.

The renewed commitment followed a series of high-level engagements in the UK involving Nigerian and British authorities, with discussions focusing on financial intelligence, public-private partnerships, intelligence sharing and coordinated responses to increasingly interconnected transnational financial crimes.

The Nigerian delegation, led by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari, included representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as well as stakeholders from the banking and telecommunications sectors.

A major highlight of the visit was the engagement with the UK’s Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT), an innovative public-private partnership that brings together law enforcement agencies, financial regulators and private-sector institutions to identify and respond to illicit financial threats.

Working sessions with JMLIT and UK Finance provided opportunities for both countries to exchange expertise on financial intelligence, information sharing and collaborative mechanisms for detecting and tackling money laundering and other illicit financial activities.

The engagements also advanced Nigeria’s efforts to establish the Joint Financial Intelligence Cooperation (JFIC), a Nigerian-led public-private partnership designed to strengthen information exchange and operational collaboration between government institutions and private-sector stakeholders.

Anchored on trust, effective governance and technology-enabled cooperation, the proposed JFIC is expected to improve the collective capacity of public institutions and financial-sector operators to identify and respond to money laundering, fraud, terrorism financing and other forms of illicit financial activity.

During the visit, the Nigerian delegation also held discussions with senior representatives of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and HM Treasury.

The discussions covered operational cooperation, the UK’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Presidency, trade-based money laundering, emerging illicit financial risks and opportunities for strengthening international collaboration against financial crimes.

Deputy Director of the Illicit Finance and Anti-Corruption Department at the FCDO, Chris Chalmers, said Nigeria and the UK had maintained a deep and longstanding partnership in tackling illicit financial flows, noting that the threat undermined economic prosperity in both countries and facilitated the activities of transnational criminal networks.

“Nigeria and the UK have a deep and long-standing partnership in working together to address illicit financial flows. Illicit finance harms both of our economies and enables the work of malicious transnational actors,” he said.

Chalmers explained that the latest engagements had helped consolidate cooperation on shared threats and international standards, particularly in developing effective public-private partnerships.

He reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in establishing the JFIC, adding that the FCDO would continue to partner with the country to operationalise the initiative.

Bakari said the increasing interconnectedness and transnational character of illicit financial networks made international cooperation indispensable to the fight against financial crimes.

She explained that Nigeria was strengthening its financial intelligence architecture through initiatives such as the JFIC, which would enable public institutions and private-sector partners to work more effectively in identifying suspicious financial activities and translating intelligence into practical interventions.

“Illicit financial networks are increasingly interconnected and transnational, making collaboration not merely desirable but essential. Nigeria is strengthening its financial intelligence architecture through initiatives such as JFIC, which will enable public institutions and private-sector partners to work more effectively together,” she said.

According to her, the partnership with the UK provides valuable opportunities for exchanging expertise and developing practical solutions that reflect Nigeria’s priorities, strengthen the country’s financial system and deliver measurable results in combating financial crimes.

Also speaking, Marc Brown, NECC Fraud Threat Lead at the National Crime Agency, said the partnership between the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and NFIU reflected the shared determination of both countries to protect economic prosperity through stronger collective responses to financial crime.

Brown said the UK would continue supporting the NFIU as it develops the JFIC framework, particularly in strengthening intelligence sharing, operational effectiveness and the capacity of authorities to prevent and disrupt criminal networks exploiting both economies.

He said the collaboration would deepen the ability of both countries to identify financial threats, coordinate enforcement responses and protect their economic systems from criminal exploitation.

The UK government reaffirmed its commitment to working with Nigeria to strengthen cooperation against illicit finance, improve intelligence sharing and protect the integrity of the financial system through effective public-private partnerships.