Abuja FCT, Nigeria — In a definitive nod to its growing authority and crucial coordinating role within the virtual asset sector, the Virtual Asset Service Providers Association (VASPA) has been officially enlisted by the Nigerian government to be a part of the Virtual Assets Working Group to help steer the country’s ongoing National Risk Assessment (NRA).
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), acting as the central nerve center for the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) efforts, has extended a direct mandate to VASPA. The directive? To nominate an expert to the Virtual Assets Working Group, ensuring the industry’s voice is front and center as Nigeria evaluates its exposure to money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
For observers of Africa’s rapidly maturing virtual asset space, this is more than just a regulatory administrative step. It is the NFIU adopting an inclusive approach towards risk assessment. It is also a resounding validation of VASPA’s role as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) and recognized representative and mouthpiece for the virtual asset industry in Africa’s leading market, Nigeria.
A Milestone for the Virtual Asset Sector
This year’s National Risk Assessment is not business as usual. According to the NFIU Secretariat, this marks the first comprehensive national assessment specifically designed to evaluate risks associated with the virtual asset sector.
With virtual assets becoming an increasingly vital artery in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem—and drawing heightened scrutiny from global watchdogs like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the NFIU recognized that a top-down regulatory approach wouldn’t suffice. Accurate data, ground-floor operational realities, and sector-specific risk indicators can only come from the builders themselves.
“Recognizing the important coordinating role of industry associations within Nigeria’s virtual asset and fintech ecosystem, the Secretariat considers your Association’s perspective essential to this exercise,” the NFIU noted in its communication to VASPA.
Inside the Room: The 6-Month Mandate
The stakes are high, and the work will be rigorous. The NRA exercise is projected to run for approximately six months. VASPA’s chosen representative—mandated to possess substantial knowledge of AML/CFT compliance, emerging typologies, and the regulatory landmines facing member institutions—will not just be a passive observer.
Participation in the Virtual Assets Working Group involves rolling up sleeves for deep data review, granular risk analysis, and the actual scoring of identified risks. This collaborative process will require voting and consensus-building among key public institutions, regulators, and industry stakeholders.
What This Means for the Industry and VASPA
This high-level engagement broadcasts a powerful signal to the global financial community and the FATF: Nigeria’s virtual asset industry is strongly committed to responsible innovation, rigorous compliance, and strict alignment with international AML/CFT standards. It is a crucial opportunity for Nigeria to ensure that it does not only stay out of the FATF “Grey List”, but also consolidate its achievements in this regard.
For VASPA, this is a strategic milestone. Earning a seat at the NRA table means the association isn’t just reacting to policy; it is actively co-authoring it. By feeding direct industry insights and empirical data into the NFIU’s framework, VASPA has the opportunity to review and shape the final conclusions of the working group. This ensures that upcoming regulations are balanced, informed, and conducive to innovation rather than stifling it.
“There’s no better way to demonstrate the forward-thinking and genuine drive by the NFIU to meet its mandate of coordinating this all-important National Risk Assessment. VASPA is ready to contribute its quota to the success of this critical national exercise,” remarked Stephen Azubuike, the Vice Chair (Policy & Regulations) of the outgoing Steering Committee.
VASPA’s leadership has been swiftly mobilized to deploy a representative who will carry the weight of the industry’s insights into these critical sessions.
VASPA’s Collaborative Work with the NFIU and EFCC
- Engagement with the NFIU as an SRO: In August 2025, VASPA was one of the organizations invited by the NFIU to an engagement with SROs in the virtual assets and FinTech sectors. There, participants discussed modalities for enhancing AML/CFT/CPF compliance within the sectors, explored collaborative mechanisms to strengthen self-regulation and oversight, identified practical approaches for risk management and reporting obligations, and discussed other important issues affecting the sectors. This eventually culminated into an onsite industry-wide engagement between the NFIU, VASPs, and SROs in Abuja FCT, Nigeria, in the same month.
- Engagement with the EFCC as Industry Representative: Also, VASPA was an industry representative at a stakeholder engagement on preventing the use of virtual assets for financial crimes in Africa with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in July 2025. Following this industry call, VASPA submitted to the EFCC a comprehensive policy advisory report, “Virtual Assets in Nigeria: Policy Advisory Report and Recommendations for the EFCC” in September 2025. Prepared in collaboration with the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), the report served as a foundational blueprint for integrating Nigeria’s burgeoning virtual asset industry into a robust, secure, and globally compliant financial system. It balanced the immense economic potential of the virtual asset sector with the non-negotiable imperative of financial crime prevention, positioning the industry as a vital engine for national economic advancement.
Looking Forward
With Nigeria having gotten out of the FATF “Grey List” in October 2025, the country now needs to consolidate on last year’s milestones. As the virtual asset industry continues to evolve and the guardrails are being built and consolidated, one thing is abundantly clear: no national risk assessment is complete without the inclusion of the fast-growing virtual asset sector. And when the public sector needs inputs from the industry, they invite industry representatives like VASPA to be a part of the conversation towards shaping policies and regulations. As a virtual asset service provider (VASP) or industry player, are you aligning?
About VASPA
The Virtual Asset Service Providers Association (VASPA) is a Pan-African industry body registered as an Incorporated Trustee with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria (CAC IT: 79069970) where it is headquartered. VASPA comprises individual, corporate, and institutional members from across Africa. For more information about us, please visit our website, www.vaspa.org. To become a Patron or Partner of VASPA, visit our Membership page: https://vaspa.org/become-a-member/. Individual and corporate members are also welcomed.
