The Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has revealed techniques used by terrorists to raise and channel funds for their activities, including the use of bank accounts belonging to deceased persons.
This was contained in the 2025 Annual Report of NFIU, which stated that terrorist financiers were opening bank accounts in women’s names as well as using social media to seek for funds under the guise of humanitarian relief or educational support.
The report reads, “The following is a case study on crowdfunding networks identified during the year: a foreign-based facilitator runs social media campaigns claiming humanitarian relief or educational support and uses encrypted apps (Telegram, Signal) to share links to convincing PayPal pages or standard bank accounts.
“Hundreds of sympathiser donors contribute $50–$500 each, amounts small enough to avoid most automated AML alerts. When the pool reaches a threshold, that account becomes the hub for onward movement.
The NFIU noted that the funds are broken down into several smaller payments and sent via International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs).
The report stated, “Rather than sending one large transfer, the senior member fractures the funds and sends dozens of sub-threshold payments through IMTOs and remittance apps to a network of money mules in Nigeria – students, small-business owners, or relatives, avoiding reporting triggers.
“Upon receipt, the money was either converted to cash, used to purchase dual-use items such as motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, or transferred through mobile banking channels to logistics managers and field operatives.”
Regarding using proxy bank accounts, NFIU said, “Terrorist financiers are opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders and logistics managers secretly control them.
“They exploit cultural norms that make women less likely to be suspected by authorities, using wives, sisters, or female associates as fronts to distance illicit funds from the true operatives.
“This tactic functions as identity laundering: women’s accounts are managed by men who hold ATM cards, mobile-banking credentials, and PINs, while the women often remain unaware of the transactions and volumes.”
According to the report, terrorist facilitators were also using telephone numbers not registered to the account holders for mobile banking as well as transaction alerts.
It stated, “Terrorist facilitators use phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.
“They bypass the security link between SIM cards and BVNs by using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies. This severs the audit trail: when a transaction is flagged, investigators trace the phone to an unrelated person, letting the real facilitator stay anonymous and continue operations.”
More details later.