The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered emerging criminal networks leveraging crowdfunding campaigns, gender-based proxy accounts, and unregistered mobile numbers to fund terrorist operations in Nigeria.
Details outlined in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report highlight how international facilitators solicit small donations under false pretenses before laundering the funds to ground operatives.
The scheme relies on foreign-based facilitators running social media campaigns for pretended humanitarian or educational causes, channeling small donations of $50 to $500 via PayPal and bank accounts to avoid anti-money laundering alerts.
The collected funds are pooled into master accounts abroad, split into sub-threshold transfers, and sent via International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to local money mules—such as students and small business owners—in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the report revealed that terrorist commanders frequently operate bank accounts opened in women's names and utilize pre-registered or deceased persons' SIM cards to sever transaction audit trails.
"Terrorist facilitators use phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary...
This severs the audit trail: when a transaction is flagged, investigators trace the phone to an unrelated person, letting the real facilitator stay anonymous." — NFIU 2025 Annual Report
#NFIU #TerrorismFinancing #CyberSecurity #FinancialCrime #NigeriaNews #Security #AntiMoneyLaundering
Published by Qubes Magazine
Founder & Editor-in-Chief: Okwudili Onyido
Stay informed and ahead with breaking news, entertainment, and exclusive updates from Qubes Magazine—your trusted source for digital journalism.
Contact: info@qubesmagazine.com.ng
© 2026 Qubes Magazine. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from the publisher.
Post a Comment