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The United States government has imposed terrorism-related sanctions on three Nigerian bureaux de change and their alleged owner, accusing them of facilitating financial transactions linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of State, identified Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad as an alleged ISWAP financial facilitator.
U.S. authorities alleged that Muhammad conducted money transfers and provided financial services on behalf of the terrorist group.
Also sanctioned were Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau de Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau de Change Limited and Generation Currency Bureau de Change Limited. According to U.S. authorities, the three firms were owned, controlled or directed by Muhammad and were allegedly used to move funds connected to ISIS-linked activities.
The designations formed part of a wider operation targeting three individuals and six entities across West Africa, Europe and the Middle East that Washington said were involved in raising, transferring and concealing funds for ISIS operations globally.
Beyond the Nigerian network, the sanctions also targeted France-based Miloud Abderrahmane and Syria-based Abdelhakim Boukich. U.S. authorities alleged that Abderrahmane facilitated financial transactions for ISIS affiliates and distributed bomb-making instructions to supporters of the extremist group. Boukich was accused of using cryptocurrency channels to transfer funds to ISIS-linked operatives across multiple countries.
According to the U.S. Treasury, Muhammad had “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, ISIS-West Africa.”
Under the sanctions, all property and interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities that fall within U.S. jurisdiction have been blocked. American citizens and businesses are also prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
The action comes amid intensified efforts by the United States and its international partners to disrupt terrorist financing networks operating across the Lake Chad Basin. Since emerging from a split within Boko Haram in 2016, ISWAP has carried out attacks on military formations, civilian communities and humanitarian workers across Nigeria’s North-East and neighbouring countries.
Security analysts have repeatedly warned that extremist groups increasingly rely on informal remittance systems, cash couriers, bureaux de change operations and cryptocurrency platforms to evade sanctions and sustain their activities. The latest sanctions are expected to heighten scrutiny of financial institutions and money service operators in Nigeria as authorities seek to close loopholes exploited by terrorist organisations.
The development also reflects deepening counterterrorism cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, particularly in intelligence sharing, financial surveillance and efforts to dismantle funding channels used by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Analysts say the sanctions underscore the growing transnational nature of terrorist financing and reinforce the need for stronger financial intelligence systems, tighter regulatory oversight and enhanced international collaboration to prevent legitimate financial networks from being exploited by extremist groups.
