Terror financing: FG moves to charge US-sanctioned BDC operator

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says Investigation had already commenced into a Lagos-based Bureau de Change operator, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, and three companies linked to him over alleged terrorism financing before the United States imposed sanctions on them.

Sources within the anti-graft agency told Vanguard that the commission had concluded significant aspects of its investigation and was preparing charges against the suspects when the US government announced the sanctions.

The development follows the designation of Muhammad and three Nigerian companies by the United States government as alleged financial facilitators of activities linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The sanctions were part of a broader action targeting three individuals and six entities accused of facilitating the movement of funds for ISIS operations across multiple countries.

The US authorities alleged that the individuals and entities played roles in supporting financial networks linked to the extremist group, leading to the sanctions imposed on them.

The EFCC’s investigation is expected to complement efforts by international authorities to disrupt terror financing networks operating within and outside Nigeria.