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The United States government has imposed sanctions on a Lagos-based alleged ISIS financier, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, and three bureaux de change linked to him as part of a broader crackdown on the terrorist group's financial networks spanning Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.
The sanctions, announced under Executive Order 13224, target individuals and entities accused of facilitating funding for ISIS operations across several countries, including France, TĂĽrkiye, Syria and Nigeria. Washington said the network has played a key role in supporting terrorist activities, financing affiliates and threatening civilian populations, including religious minorities.
Muhammad, 35, who is also known as Adamu Mukhtar and Muhammad Mukhtar, was identified by U.S. authorities as a key ISIS-West Africa financier. The sanctions listing linked him to an address in Agege, Lagos State, and accused him of serving as a conduit for funds destined for the terrorist organisation.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Muhammad allegedly used a network of bureaux de change in Lagos and Kano states to facilitate financial transactions on behalf of ISIS. The businesses named in the sanctions include Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited in Lagos, as well as Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited in Kano.
U.S. authorities said the wider network also involved a France-based facilitator accused of providing explosives-related information to ISIS supporters and a Syria-based operative who allegedly used cryptocurrency channels to transfer funds for ISIS associates in several countries, including the United States.
Speaking on the action, State Department spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott said the administration was determined to dismantle ISIS financing structures globally. He noted that cutting off the group's financial resources remains central to efforts aimed at preventing attacks and weakening its operational capabilities.
Pigott said the sanctions demonstrate sustained pressure on ISIS as the group increasingly relies on decentralised networks and financial intermediaries to sustain its activities across different regions of the world.
The U.S. government also commended Nigeria for its continued cooperation in counterterrorism operations, citing Abuja’s role in the May 16, 2026 operation that reportedly led to the killing of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, identified as the second-highest-ranking ISIS official.
Washington reaffirmed its commitment to using diplomatic, financial and legal measures to combat terrorism, stressing that ISIS and its supporters would continue to face international scrutiny and enforcement actions wherever they operate.
With the designation, all individuals and entities named have been added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list. The move freezes any assets they may hold under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits American citizens and businesses from engaging in transactions with them.
ISIS was first designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organisation by the United States in 2004 and was subsequently listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation later that same year.
