SEC orders operators to freeze ISIS-linked accounts

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed capital market operators in Nigeria to immediately identify and freeze funds, assets and other economic resources linked to a Nigerian citizen and three companies sanctioned by the United States Government over alleged links to financial transactions connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and ISIS-West Africa.

The directive was contained in a circular titled “Notice of Sanction” published by the commission.

Under the directive, all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) are required to freeze, without prior notice, the assets of the designated individual and companies and report the action to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

The individual named on the sanctions list is Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Adamu and Muhammad Mukhtar.

The three companies are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited.

The SEC directed CMREs to “immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated individual and entities in their possession” and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

The commission also ordered operators to disclose all frozen assets, actions taken to comply with the designation and any attempted transactions involving the sanctioned individual or entities.

Beyond the asset freeze, capital market operators were directed to immediately file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of financial activities associated with the individual and companies.

The operators were also instructed to report to the NFIU all cases of name matching in financial transactions, irrespective of whether the transactions occurred before or after receipt of the sanctions list.

The SEC further directed CMREs to prohibit future dealings with the sanctioned individual and entities and maintain continuous monitoring of transactions linked to them.

Findings are to be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through the designated reporting channel.

The commission said the directive took immediate effect, warning that failure by regulated entities to comply would constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, as well as the SEC Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations.

It warned that non-compliance could attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.

The directive highlights the increasing regulatory efforts to prevent Nigeria’s financial and capital market systems from being exploited for terrorism financing and other illicit financial activities.