US Sanctions Nigerian, Firms in Global Crackdown on ISIS Financial Network
The United States has announced sanctions against three individuals and six businesses accused of facilitating financial transactions for the Islamic State (ISIS), as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to disrupt global terrorism financing networks.
The designations, announced on Monday, target individuals and entities allegedly involved in moving funds for ISIS across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.
According to U.S. authorities, dismantling the network, which stretches from France and Syria to Türkiye and Nigeria, is aimed at cutting off financial resources used by the terrorist group to carry out attacks, support its regional affiliates and threaten civilians, including religious minorities.
Among those sanctioned is a Nigerian national, Muhammad Mukhtar Adamu, who is accused of using his currency exchange businesses to channel funds for ISIS-West Africa.
Also designated are a French national, Abderrahmane Miloud, accused of providing explosives-related information to ISIS supporters, and a Syrian national, Abdelhakim Boukich, who allegedly used cryptocurrency to transfer funds on behalf of ISIS-linked associates.
The U.S. government also reaffirmed its security partnership with Nigeria, noting that both countries jointly carried out the May 16, 2026, operation that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified as the second-in-command of ISIS.
The U.S. State Department said sustained pressure on the terrorist group has weakened its operational structure, forcing it to rely increasingly on financial intermediaries to maintain its global network.
“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,” the department said in a statement.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has listed the three individuals and their associated companies as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
According to the Treasury Department, Muhammad Mukhtar Adamu, who is linked to ISIS-West Africa, was born on 2 August 1990 (with an alternative date of 3 August 1990) and is resident in the Agege area of Lagos.
The other sanctioned individuals are Syrian national Abdelhakim Boukich, also known as Babili Muhammad, born on 15 December 1993 (alternative date of birth: 1 January 1991), and French national Abderrahmane Miloud, also known as Ghazi Ibrahim, born in August 1992. Both are alleged to have links with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The three Nigerian companies linked to Adamu include General Currency Bureau De Change Limited, incorporated in Lagos on 9 January 2019 (RC 1555604); Manhattan Bureau De Change, located on Murtala Mohammed Way, Kano, incorporated on 26 January 2021 (RC 1763824); and Nine To Nine Exchange Bureau De Change, situated at the FAAN Complex, Airport Road, Lagos, incorporated on 22 August 2017 (RC 1462752).
