The United States government has identified a Nigerian national and three bureaux de change operating in Nigeria among individuals and entities allegedly involved in a global financing network linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
The disclosure followed fresh sanctions announced by the US Department of State and the Treasury Department against three individuals and six organisations accused of facilitating the movement of funds for the terrorist group across multiple regions.
Speaking on the development, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the network stretched across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa, with operatives allegedly helping ISIS move money through various financial channels.
According to the US authorities, one of the key figures in the network is Lagos-based businessman Muhammad Mukhtar Adamu, whose money exchange operations were allegedly used to channel funds to ISIS-linked groups.
The sanctions also targeted three Nigerian bureaux de change said to be connected to Adamu. They include:
- – Generation Currency Bureau de Change Limited, Lagos;
- – Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau de Change Limited, Lagos; and
- – Manhattan Bureau de Change Limited, Kano.
The US government alleged that the businesses served as financial conduits for ISIS activities and were part of a wider network used to move money across international borders.
Pigott said the measures form part of Washington’s efforts to disrupt the financial infrastructure that enables terrorist organisations to fund operations and recruit members.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, the United States is dismantling ISIS’s ability to finance terrorism around the world.
We are cutting off the financial lifelines that enable ISIS to fund attacks, support regional affiliates and threaten civilians,” he said.
The sanctions also named two other individuals Miloud Abderrahmane, a French national, and Abdelhakim Boukich, a Syrian-based operative of Dutch origin both accused of providing support to ISIS through financial transfers and operational assistance.
In addition to the Nigerian firms, the US Treasury Department listed several organisations based in Turkey and Syria, including money transfer and cryptocurrency exchange businesses allegedly used to facilitate transactions on behalf of ISIS operatives.
The sanctions freeze any assets under US jurisdiction and prohibit American individuals and businesses from engaging in transactions with those designated.
US authorities said the action is aimed at disrupting ISIS’s ability to raise, transfer and access funds used to sustain its activities across different parts of the world.
Neither the Nigerian government nor the affected individuals and companies had issued an official response as of the time of filing this report.
