Finance Regulatory Update: May 2025

In this edition, we discuss important updates issued by key regulators in the financial service sector.
This month, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the “CBN”) issued relevant guidelines and market updates.
We take a cursory look at the key insights from these updates and their impact on relevant
stakeholders.

Exposure Draft of the Baseline Standards for Automated Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions

By a circular dated 20 May 2025, the CBN issued a draft of the Baseline Standards for Automated
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Solutions (the “Draft Baseline AML Standards”). The Draft Baseline
AML Standards aim to promote uniformity, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance in the
AML solutions utilised by financial institutions in Nigeria.

Issued against the CBN (Anti Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and
Countering Proliferation Financing of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Financial Institutions)
Regulations 2022, which established a broad institutional and manual framework for the compliance
and enforcement of AML, combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and countering proliferation
financing (CPF) measures through policies, manual controls, and reporting obligations, the Draft
Baseline AML Standards seek to enhance the AML, CFT, and CPF capabilities of financial
instructions through the deployment of advanced, technology-driven solutions such as artificial
intelligence (AI) powered systems, transaction monitoring, automated risk profiling and assessment,
and enhanced data integration.