By Abiola Olawale
The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has continued to reveal damning revelations about how some suspected terrorists, kidnappers, and other entities receive payments for their illegal activities.
The intelligence unit in its newsletter alleged that a 24-year Nigerian customer from North-Central Nigeria received over N350,000 through a sports betting platform. The betting platform, simply identified as XC, filed a suspicious transaction report on a 24-year Nigerian customer.
The newsletter noted that: “This 24-year-old from Nigeria’s North-Central region received over N350,000 in his betting wallet, believed to be ransom money from a kidnapping.”
Also, the intelligence unit said it has uncovered 27 cells belonging to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra in 22 countries across the globe, including the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In its newsletter, NFIU said IPOB has seven operating cells in the United States, while six were in the United Kingdom.
It added that over $160,000 has been allegedly raised by IPOB through crowd-funding was funneled to transmission, media, and broadcasting companies in Bulgaria, South Africa, and the UK.
Part of the report read: “The analysis further indicates that the group (IPOB) has several bank accounts in different countries where funds are being received from various contributors with the narrations ‘monthly dues’, ‘services’ and ‘for ESN,’ among others, then later disbursed for various operations.”
In another case, the financial intelligence unit exposed a terrorist attempting to evade being detected. It noted that the individual made structured cash withdrawals from different Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and purchased flight tickets to high-risk areas using credit cards.
The NFIU explained that whenever the individual exceeded his withdrawal limit, he would adopt alternative methods of travel.
“The terrorist then attempted suspicious transfers exceeding €1,000 to a local charity with potential links to terrorism. These transactions, along with others for luxury goods and escort services, raised red flags,” the newsletter added.
