Banks, fintech operators and other reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025, reflecting increased compliance with anti-money laundering regulations amid tighter regulatory oversight.
The disclosure was contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which showed that the agency also received 41,716,214 Currency Transaction Reports and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports during the year.
“During the review period, the NFIU received a total of 41,716,214 CTRs, 42,082 STRs, and 10,513 SARs,” the report stated.
The NFIU said it receives threshold-based disclosures, Suspicious Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports, alongside regulatory submissions on compliance with anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing requirements.
The agency added that it collaborates with the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering to ensure reporting entities comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Analysis of the report showed that Deposit Money Banks were the largest source of Suspicious Transaction Reports in 2025, accounting for 38,715 filings, or about 92 per cent of the total reported by industry participants.
Other Financial Institutions submitted 2,185 STRs, while Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions filed 1,029 reports. Capital market operators and insurance companies accounted for 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers, including cryptocurrency service providers, submitted 49 suspicious transaction reports.
Deposit Money Banks also accounted for the largest share of Suspicious Activity Reports, submitting 8,313 of the 10,513 SARs received by the NFIU during the year.
Other Financial Institutions filed 1,816 SARs, while capital market operators and insurance companies submitted 295. Virtual Asset Service Providers accounted for 89 reports, while no SAR was recorded from the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions sector.
The report also showed that reporting entities submitted more than 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports during the year. Deposit Money Banks accounted for 37,214,139 filings, representing about 89.2 per cent of the total, while Other Financial Institutions submitted 4,212,466 reports.
Capital market operators and insurance companies filed 289,296 CTRs, while Virtual Asset Service Providers accounted for 313 reports.
The NFIU noted that Section 11 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act requires financial institutions to report transactions above N5m for individuals and N10m for legal persons within seven days.
It added that Section 3(1) of the Act requires financial institutions to report incoming and outgoing transfers exceeding $10,000 within 24 hours.
Quarterly data showed a steady increase in banks’ Suspicious Transaction Reports throughout 2025, rising from 9,134 in the first quarter to 9,658 in the second quarter, 9,891 in the third quarter and 10,032 in the fourth quarter.
Currency Transaction Reports filed by Deposit Money Banks also increased steadily throughout the year, rising from 7,040,493 in the first quarter to 8,197,292 in the second quarter, 10,885,247 in the third quarter and 11,091,107 in the fourth quarter.
Among Other Financial Institutions, Suspicious Transaction Reports stood at 451 in the first quarter and 432 in the second before rising to 719 in the third quarter and declining to 583 in the fourth quarter. Suspicious Activity Reports from the sector increased from 453 in the first quarter to a peak of 569 in the third quarter, before falling to 399 in the final quarter.
The report also highlighted increased reporting activity among Virtual Asset Service Providers. The sector filed no Suspicious Transaction Reports in the first half of the year but submitted 17 in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth quarter.t
