Key points
- Reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the NFIU in 2025.
- Deposit Money Banks accounted for 38,715 STRs, representing about 92% of the total.
- The NFIU also received 41.7 million Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
- STRs declined by 48.8% from 82,143 in 2024, while SARs fell by about 55%.
- CTRs, however, increased by 61.6%, from 25.8 million in 2024 to 41.7 million in 2025.
- Reporting of transactions involving Politically Exposed Persons rose by 31.1% to 28.1 million.
- Virtual Asset Service Providers began recording more suspicious transaction and currency transaction reports in the second half of 2025.
- The CBN is moving towards AI- and machine-learning-enabled AML systems capable of real-time monitoring and anomaly detection.
Main Story
Banks, fintech operators and other reporting entities submitted 42,082 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025, according to the agency’s 2025 Annual Report.
The disclosure comes amid increased regulatory emphasis on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing compliance across Nigeria’s financial system.
The NFIU also received 41,716,214 Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and 10,513 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) during the year.
Deposit Money Banks remained the dominant source of suspicious transaction reports, accounting for 38,715 filings, or approximately 92 per cent 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 accounted for 104 reports, while Virtual Asset Service Providers, including cryptocurrency-related businesses, submitted 49 STRs.
Banks also dominated SAR filings, contributing 8,313 of the 10,513 reports received by the NFIU. Other Financial Institutions filed 1,816, while capital market and insurance firms submitted 295. VASPs accounted for 89 SARs, while no SAR was recorded from the DNFBP sector.
The report showed that banks’ suspicious transaction reporting increased throughout 2025, rising from 9,134 in the first quarter to 10,032 in the fourth quarter.
However, the annual figures showed a significant decline compared with 2024. STRs fell from 82,143 to 42,082, representing a 48.8 per cent decrease, while SARs dropped from 23,364 to 10,513, a decline of approximately 55 per cent.
The decline contrasts sharply with the growth in threshold-based reporting. CTRs increased from 25.8 million in 2024 to 41.7 million in 2025, representing a 61.6 per cent increase.
The NFIU said financial institutions are required under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act to report transactions above prescribed thresholds. These include transactions exceeding N5 million for individuals and N10 million for legal persons, while certain international transfers above $10,000 must also be reported within the prescribed timeframe.
The report also recorded 28.1 million reports involving Politically Exposed Persons, representing a 31.1 per cent increase from 2024.
Meanwhile, reporting activity by VASPs increased during the second half of 2025. The sector recorded 17 STRs in the third quarter and 32 in the fourth quarter, after reporting none in the first half.
The NFIU also stepped up compliance monitoring, with its Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Division conducting joint on-site examinations of 29 entities in sectors including real estate, casinos, precious metals and stones, and consultancy.
The development comes against the backdrop of efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to modernise AML compliance through technology. Under proposed standards issued in 2025, regulated financial institutions are expected to deploy intelligent systems capable of real-time transaction monitoring, anomaly detection, risk scoring and behavioural analysis.
The proposed systems are also expected to incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning and integrate with core banking, customer onboarding and transaction-processing platforms.
The Issues
The sharp decline in STRs and SARs raises questions about whether suspicious activity actually decreased or whether reporting patterns changed.
The substantial rise in CTRs indicates increased monitoring of threshold-based transactions across the financial system.
The rapid expansion of fintech and cryptocurrency transactions presents new AML and financial intelligence challenges.
Financial institutions face increasing pressure to invest in automated compliance and real-time monitoring systems.
Effective implementation of AI-based AML systems will require reliable data, skilled personnel and strong regulatory oversight.
Greater reporting must translate into effective investigation and enforcement to ensure that suspicious transaction reports lead to meaningful action.
What’s Being Said
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit:
The NFIU’s 2025 figures show continued reporting by financial institutions and other regulated entities under Nigeria’s AML, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing framework.
Central Bank of Nigeria:
The CBN has pushed for modernised AML systems capable of improving detection accuracy and efficiency through technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, behavioural analysis and real-time transaction monitoring.
What’s Next
Financial institutions are expected to continue strengthening their AML compliance systems as regulatory requirements become more technology-driven. Greater adoption of automated monitoring, AI-based risk assessment and direct electronic reporting to the NFIU is likely to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s financial crime detection framework.
Regulators will also need to determine whether the sharp fall in STRs and SARs represents improved filtering of legitimate transactions or a potential weakness in suspicious-activity reporting.
Bottom Line
Nigeria’s financial institutions significantly increased threshold-based and PEP reporting in 2025, but suspicious transaction and activity reports fell sharply. The contrasting figures highlight a changing compliance landscape in which banks, fintechs and other financial operators are increasingly expected to combine regulatory reporting with technology-driven, real-time detection of financial crime.
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