The United States has imposed terrorism-related sanctions on three Nigerian bureaux de change and an alleged financier over accusations of funding the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The move is part of wider counterterrorism efforts across multiple regions.
The sanctions were announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.S. Department of State. They also target individuals and entities linked to ISIS financing networks.
Named in the designation is Nigerian financier Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, accused of acting as a financial facilitator for ISWAP.
He is alleged to have carried out money transfers and provided financial services for the group.
The Department said Muhammad “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, ISIS-West Africa.”
Also sanctioned were Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau de Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau de Change Limited, and Generation Currency Bureau de Change Limited.
The firms were allegedly owned or controlled by Muhammad and used to move funds linked to ISIS activities.
U.S. officials said the action forms part of a broader operation targeting individuals and entities operating across West Africa, Europe, and the Middle East involved in terrorist financing.
The Treasury also designated France-based Miloud Abderrahmane and Syria-based Abdelhakim Boukich.
Abderrahmane was accused of handling transactions for ISIS affiliates and sharing bomb-making instructions.
Boukich was alleged to have used cryptocurrency channels to facilitate financial transfers for ISIS-linked operatives in multiple countries.
Under the sanctions, all assets of the designated persons and entities within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. American citizens and companies are also barred from doing business with them.
The action comes amid ongoing efforts to disrupt terrorist financing networks in the Lake Chad Basin, where ISWAP remains active after breaking away from Boko Haram in 2016.
ISWAP has carried out repeated attacks on military bases, communities, and aid workers in Nigeria’s North-East and neighbouring countries, raising regional security concerns.
Security experts said extremist groups increasingly rely on informal remittance systems, cash couriers, bureaux de change, and cryptocurrency platforms to evade detection and sustain operations.
The United States has previously sanctioned individuals linked to Boko Haram financing, while Nigeria has also intensified domestic measures, including asset freezes ordered by the Federal High Court in terrorism financing cases.
