By Oluwatobi Omotosho
The Federal Government is set to prosecute a Lagos-based Bureau De Change operator, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, and three companies linked to him over alleged terrorism financing activities.
Sources within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) revealed that the anti-graft agency had already been investigating Muhammad and the affected companies before the United States government imposed sanctions on them over alleged links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS.
According to EFCC officials familiar with the investigation, the commission had concluded major aspects of its probe and was preparing charges before the US government announced its designation.
“We investigated these individuals and the BDC companies for terrorism financing and were preparing charges against them when the U.S. indicted them,” an EFCC source said.
The development followed the decision by the United States government to sanction Muhammad and three Nigerian companies over allegations that they facilitated financial activities linked to ISIS operations.
The US Department of State said the sanctions were part of a wider action targeting individuals and entities accused of helping move funds for terrorist networks operating across different countries.
Muhammad, identified as a Bureau De Change operator in Lagos, was accused by US authorities of acting as a financial channel for the West African branch of ISIS.
The sanctions mean that any assets or interests in property belonging to the affected individuals and companies under US jurisdiction will be frozen, while American citizens and businesses are restricted from engaging in transactions with them.
Although the EFCC has not officially commented on the matter, sources confirmed that the commission’s investigation focused on suspicious financial activities allegedly connected to terrorism financing.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee has backed the US action, saying the designation followed Nigeria’s earlier listing of the individuals and companies on its sanctions list.
The committee said intelligence gathering, financial investigations and inter-agency assessments established grounds to believe that the affected persons and entities supported or facilitated activities linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, and other terrorist networks.
Those listed include Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman and Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam.
The affected companies are Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
The Federal Government has directed financial institutions and other regulated businesses to comply with sanctions requirements, including freezing affected assets, reporting suspicious transactions and notifying relevant authorities.
The Nigeria Sanctions Committee commended agencies involved in the investigation and enforcement process, including the EFCC, Central Bank of Nigeria, Department of State Services, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The committee reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to blocking terrorist financing networks and ensuring that individuals and organisations linked to terrorism do not exploit the country’s financial system.
