The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered alleged funding of terrorist activities in Nigeria by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), bandits, and other terror groups through global crowdfunding and sports betting platforms.
According to the NFIU, IPOB received funds through affiliates in 22 countries, with at least 27 entities registered under the group’s name.
Notably, seven registrations were made in the United States, while six were in the United Kingdom.
Over $160,000 raised through crowdfunding by IPOB was reportedly directed to transmission, media, and broadcasting companies in Bulgaria, South Africa, and the UK.
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The NFIU disclosed these details in a newsletter from its Counter-Financing of Terrorism Department, emphasizing that funds were received from various contributors for purposes including “monthly dues, services, and for ESN” (Eastern Security Network), among others.
Additionally, the NFIU highlighted suspicious transactions reported by a betting platform involving a 24-year-old Nigerian customer from North-Central Nigeria, who allegedly received over N350,000 believed to be ransom money from a kidnapping.
Furthermore, the unit revealed cases where terrorists attempted to evade detection by making structured cash withdrawals, purchasing flight tickets to high-risk areas using credit cards, and engaging in suspicious transfers to local charities with potential links to terrorism.
The NFIU urged law enforcement agencies to investigate transactions linked to known terrorists or financiers, unauthorized tax collections, forced donations in terrorism-prone areas, Bureau de Change operators facilitating transfers within suspected networks, multiple cash deposits in bank accounts, large deposits followed by cash withdrawals at Point of Sale operators, money transfers from Nigeria to high-risk countries, recruitment of individuals to open multiple bank accounts, and financial transfers to charities associated with terrorism.
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