The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has alerted financial institutions to the surge in suspicious financial transactions from Nigeria to — two emerging hotspots for illicit financial flows – Hong Kong and Dubai.
The NFIU, in a May 2025 report, spotted an increasing number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed on transactions to these regions.
“It is pertinent to note that in 2021 only 2 STRs valued at just ₦42 million were reported. However, by 2024 the value increased to 202 STRs valued at ₦32 billion.
“Between January 2021 and September 2024, the NFIU received a total of 401 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) from reporting entities valued at over ₦48 billion. 185 of these were linked to Dubai and 216 were linked to the Hong Kong axis,” the report partly read.
The NFIU therefore urged financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions and their regulators to apply enhanced due diligence, robust transaction monitoring, and comprehensive reporting measures to transactions linked to Dubai and Hong Kong to detect, prevent, and report suspicious financial transactions to mitigate the impacts of this emerging threat/vulnerability.
The report further said, “This ‘Dubai-Kong axis’, as coined by Sussex researchers, has become a primary channel for IFFs (illicit financial flows) due to its strategic positioning across Asia, the Middle East, and links to former colonial networks that allow connectivity to Western financial markets.
“This axis is increasingly viewed as an attractive route for “dirty money”
networks and is noted for its capacity to accommodate a range of illicit financial
activities due to differing regulatory standards and legal infrastructures.
“In view of the above, the NFIU finds it pertinent to issue this advisory to the relevant stakeholders to employ Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) in the detection, deterrence and prevention of abuse of the financial system through these hotspots.”
