Nigeria

SevereNGA · NG · Africa

Systemic exposure. Every counterparty needs positive confirmation.

Risk by sectorOne country, six different businesses
Payments and PSPSevere

mobile money outpacing the records it leaves

Charity and NGOSevere

delivery corridors near active conflict

Crypto and VASPSevere

high adoption with supervision still maturing

Trade and import/exportHigh

severe base risk that is not trade-corridor driven

Company formationHigh

severe base risk that is not ownership driven

Real estateHigh

no significant foreign property market

ClearCautionHighSevere
Analyst view

Nigeria is rated Severe at base, which is the view a payment services provider would take.

The rating is not the same for every business. For payments it reads Severe, because of mobile money outpacing the records it leaves. For trade and import/export it reads High, because of severe base risk that is not trade-corridor driven. One number cannot carry both, which is why the sector view exists.

For charities the practical question is where the money lands. Delivery near conflict carries documented diversion risk under FATF Recommendation 8, and that is a different control from the one a payment firm would apply.

Structural detail
Common patterns
cross-border layeringcash-intensive sectorsopaque ownership structuresterrorism financingaid and non-profit diversionmobile-money layering
Sanctions position
No country-level sanctions. Screen counterparties against the consolidated lists as standard.
Can you find the owner?
A register exists but access or enforcement is uneven. Expect to corroborate ownership from a second source.
Methodology v1.0, published 2026-08-19FATF status as at 19 June 2026Ratings are research-grade intelligence, not regulated advice.