SEC orders operators to freeze ISIS-linked accounts

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By Peter Egwuatu & Chukwunonso Okolo

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

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The directive, contained in a circular titled ‘Notice of Sanction’ posted on the commission’s website, requires all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) to freeze the assets of the designated individual and entities without prior notice and report the action to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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It also directed CMREs to subsequently prohibit dealings with the sanctioned individual and entities and continue monitoring transactions relating to them, with findings to be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through [email protected].

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The SEC said the directive takes immediate effect, warning that failure by regulated entities to comply would amount to 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.

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According to the commission, non-compliance would attract appropriate regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.

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The directive underscores the growing regulatory focus on preventing Nigeria’s financial and capital market systems from being used to facilitate terrorism financing and other illicit financial activities.

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