The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was already investigating a Lagos-based bureau de change operator, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, and three companies linked to him for alleged terrorism financing before the United States government imposed sanctions on them, sources within the anti-graft agency have disclosed.
Top EFCC officials familiar with the investigation told our correspondent that the commission had concluded significant aspects of its probe and was preparing charges when the US government announced the sanctions.
“We investigated these individuals and the BDC companies for terrorism financing and were preparing charges against them when the U.S. indicted them,” a source said.
The development comes after the United States designated Muhammad and three Nigerian companies linked to him as alleged financial facilitators of activities linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The designation formed part of a broader action targeting three individuals and six entities accused of facilitating the movement of funds for ISIS operations across different countries.
In a statement issued on Monday and sighted on Tuesday, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Thomas Pigott said the sanctions targeted individuals and entities operating in France, Syria, Türkiye, and Nigeria.
According to the statement, the Nigerian national named in the sanctions is Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Muhammad, a bureau de change operator based in Lagos State.
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The U.S. authorities alleged that Muhammad and the affected companies served as financial conduits for the West African branch of ISIS by facilitating the movement of funds on behalf of the terrorist group.
The sanctions freeze any assets or interests in property belonging to the designated individuals and entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with them.
Although the EFCC has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, sources said the commission’s investigation focused on alleged terrorism financing activities and financial transactions suspected to be linked to terrorist operations.
The sources, however, declined to disclose when formal charges would be filed.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee has welcomed the decision by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control to blacklist Adamu, Nine to Nine Bureau De Change, and Generation BDC Limited over alleged links to terrorism financing.
In a statement on Wednesday, the committee said the US action followed Nigeria’s earlier designation of the individuals and entities under the Nigeria Sanctions List on June 18, 2026.
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