Senate passes Bill to autonomize Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency

The Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency (NFIA) as an autonomous body.

This followed adoption of the harmonised report of the conference committee on Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency Bill on Wednesday.

The Bill removes the NFIA, which is domiciled as a Unit under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and places it under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

It seeks to grant financial and operational autonomy to the agency and empowers it as the central body in Nigeria to be responsible for “requesting, receiving, analysing and disseminating financial and other information to all law enforcement and security agencies and other relevant authorities.”

The Bill was earlier passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

It would be recalled that the Egmont group, which is a global network of 154 Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), had earlier suspended Nigeria at its last general meeting in July 2017, with a threat to expel the country if the Unit had not been given autonomy by its next meeting scheduled from March 11 to 16, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

If expelled, the country will suffer a blacklist in the global finance sector and Nigerian Banks will be unable to issue Mastercard and Visa credit/debit cards while card transactions with Nigerian originated cards will be blocked. This means Nigerians will be unable to carry out foreign transactions.

Objectives of the bill include: institutionalise best practices in financial intelligence management in Nigeria; strengthen the existing system for combating money laundering and associated predicate offences, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and make provision for the Agency to exchange information with Financial Intelligence Institutions or similar bodies in other countries in matters relating to money laundering, terrorist financing activities and other predicate offences. And to make the Agency an autonomous body.

The bill further empowers the agency to: “enter into Memoranda of Understanding or such other arrangements as will enable it to carry out its functions effectively in Nigeria and with financial intelligence Units and other competent authorities in other countries; collaborate with other regulatory authorities, law enforcement and security agencies, and self-regulatory bodies in Nigeria and other countries in combating money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and associated predicate offences and review anti-money laundering, counter terrorism financing, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction counter- measures and associated predicate offences on a regular basis in consultation with regulatory authorities and competent authorities.”

The agency is also empowered to “disseminate, spontaneously and upon request, information and results of its analysis to relevant competent authorities and with Financial Intelligence Units in other countries with or without a Memorandum of Understanding;/receive, collect and analyse reports concerning transactions of the type mentioned in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, the terrorism prevention Act and any other relevant laws; demand statistics of cases, convictions and feedback on intelligence provided to law enforcement, security, anti-corruption agencies, regulatory authorities and other competent authorities; request for and collect any such other information as the Unit deems necessary in order to fulfil its functions under this Bill; and do such other things as are necessary or expedient for the effective and efficient performance of its functions under this Bill or any other relevant laws, rules and regulations”.

It also provides that the NFIA Director from the Directorate Cadre in the Public Service of the Federation, shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Attorney-General of the Federation for a term of five years in the first instance and shall be eligible for re-appointment for another term of five years and no more.

Speaking after the bill was passed, Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over plenary, said the enactment of the bill will facilitate the country’s readmission into the EGMONT Group.

He said when signed into law, it would also help the country in the fight against corruption.

The Senate President urged the President to immediately sign the bill into law to prevent Nigeria’s expulsion from the group.

“I hope that with this Bill that we have passed today — this Conference Report — that they will have a second view and re-admit us (Nigeria) into the process (EGMONT Group).

“I hope on the part of the Executive, they will quickly assent to this Bill and also ensure that the independence of the Financial Unit goes beyond just signing this Bill into law.

“It is important that we see it being practiced — this is very important. I hope on their part, this will be done so that our country stays as part of the EGMONT Group that has a lot of benefits for our fight against corruption,” he said.

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja