The largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has become known as the “economic powerhouse” of West Africa, contributing to nearly 50% of the region’s GDP. However, it has also held the title of the world’s “poverty capital”, exacerbated by the pandemic. High levels of income inequality, poor infrastructure, a complex and opaque regulatory environment, bribery and corruption, and porous borders have allowed financial crime to flourish in Nigeria, supported by activity by terror groups Boko Haram and Islamic State's West Africa Province.
Human, weapons and drugs trafficking (Nigerian women form the highest percentage of African victims trafficked to Europe), alongside fraud, bribery and corruption, cybercrime and environmental crime, also represent a palpable risk to which companies operating in or with Nigeria can be exposed.
For more detail, consult our country risk report, which examines Nigeria’s legal and regulatory approach to financial crime and analyses the nature of financial crime threats that arise from the country’s political and economic landscape.