SECURITY: US Designates Nigerian, Three Firms Over Alleged ISIS Financing Network, Releases Names

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

The United States government has designated a Nigerian national and three Nigeria based financial services companies for their alleged involvement in facilitating financial transactions linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as part of a broader international crackdown on terrorist financing networks spanning Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.

The designation, announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of State, targeted three individuals and six entities accused of helping ISIS move funds across international borders to support its operations and affiliated groups. The action was taken under Executive Order 13224, the principal U.S. counterterrorism sanctions framework. According to U.S. authorities, the measures are aimed at disrupting the financial lifelines that enable the extremist group to sustain its activities across different regions of the world.

In a statement announcing the sanctions, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Thomas Pigott said the designated individuals and entities had enabled ISIS to transfer funds across multiple jurisdictions.

“Today’s designations target three individuals and six entities operating across Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa who have enabled ISIS to move money across borders, exposing a network that spans from France and Syria to Türkiye and Nigeria,” Pigott stated.

At the centre of the Nigerian component of the sanctions is Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, a Nigerian citizen based in Lagos. The U.S. government identified him as an alleged financial facilitator for ISIS West Africa, also known as ISWAP. According to the sanctions notice, Muhammad, who was born in August 1990 and resides in Agege, Lagos State, allegedly conducted money transfers on behalf of the terrorist organisation and operated through a network of financial businesses.

The United States also sanctioned three Nigerian Bureau De Change companies allegedly owned, controlled or directed by Muhammad. They are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, registered in Lagos with Corporate Affairs Commission registration number RC 1555604; Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, located in Ikeja, Lagos State; and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, situated along Murtala Mohammed Way in Kano. U.S. authorities alleged that the companies were used to facilitate financial transactions connected to ISIS West Africa.

Apart from the Nigerian entities, the sanctions list included France based Miloud Abderrahmane and Syria based Abdelhakim Boukich, whom Washington accused of facilitating financial transactions on behalf of ISIS. Also designated were financial and money transfer businesses operating in Türkiye and Syria, including Alkaram Company, Spider Company and Bitcoin Exchange Agent Idlib’s No. 1 Coin Exchange. The U.S. Treasury described them as part of a transnational financial network used by ISIS to move funds between its affiliates and operatives.

The Treasury Department said ISIS has increasingly relied on decentralised financial networks and intermediaries to sustain its global operations following years of military pressure against the group. According to the department’s 2026 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment, financial facilitators play a critical role in connecting ISIS regional affiliates with the organisation’s central leadership structure and funding channels.

The latest action comes weeks after a joint United States and Nigerian counterterrorism operation reportedly resulted in the killing of Abu Bilal al Minuki, identified by U.S. authorities as the second highest ranking official in ISIS and head of its General Directorate of Provinces. Washington cited the operation as evidence of growing cooperation between both countries in combating terrorism and disrupting terrorist financing networks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions underscore Washington’s determination to dismantle ISIS financial structures worldwide.

“ISIS continues to seek new methods and tools to finance terrorist attacks. The United States will leverage every tool at its disposal to crush ISIS’s remaining capabilities and protect American lives,” Bessent said.

Pigott also reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to working with international partners, including Nigeria, to combat terrorism financing.

“We will continue to use every diplomatic and legal tool available to hold ISIS and its supporters accountable, wherever they operate and however they move money. We remain fully committed to protecting American lives, defending religious minorities, and working with international partners to eliminate the threat that ISIS poses to global peace and security,” he said.

Under U.S. sanctions regulations, all property and interests in property belonging to designated persons that fall within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. American individuals and companies are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with sanctioned persons and entities. Violations can attract significant civil and criminal penalties.

ISIS has remained on the U.S. list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist organisations since 2004.