26/06/2026
It is not every registered business or profession in Nigeria that must obtain a Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) Certificate to open or operate a corporate bank account.
The Money Laundering (Prevention and Provision) Act, 2022 requires that certain businesses and professions referred to as a “designated non-financial business and profession” should obtain a SCUML Certificate in order to open or operate a corporate bank account in Nigeria.
Experience has shown that some commercial have made the requirement of a SCUML Certificate compulsory for all types of corporate accounts in Nigeria. This is not the position of the law.
The Money Laundering (Prevention and Provision) Act, 2022 has defined “Designated non-financial business and profession” to include, automotive dealers, businesses involved in the hospitality industry, casinos, clearing and settlement companies, consultants and consulting companies, dealers in jewelries, dealers in mechanized farming equipment, farming equipment and machineries, dealers in precious metals and precious stones, dealers in real estate, estate developers, estate agents and brokers, high value dealers, hotels, legal practitioners and notaries, licensed professional accountants, mortgage brokers, practitioners of mechanized farming, supermarkets, tax consultants, trust and company service providers, pools betting and non-governmental organizations.
Therefore, any business or profession that is not involved in any of the above subjects does not need a SCUML Certificate to open or operate a corporate bank account.
It’s time for the legal departments of commercial banks in Nigeria to guide their banks on the requirements of the SCUML Certificate to open or operate a corporate bank account in Nigeria.
