The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria has issued an urgent mandate to all capital market participants. The order requires them to locate and block all financial resources and assets associated with a specific Nigerian individual and three companies recently sanctioned by the U.S. government for ties to ISIS and ISIS-West Africa.
According to the official circular, the affected parties include Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad and three exchange bureaus: Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited. Regulated entities must execute these freezes immediately without notifying the affected parties and provide a status update to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
The SEC further requires firms to submit suspicious transaction reports regarding these parties to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). Furthermore, operators must monitor for any name matches and prohibit future business dealings with the designated entities. This directive is effective immediately. The commission warned that failure to comply with these orders, which fall under the Investments and Securities Act of 2025 and anti-money laundering regulations, could lead to severe penalties including heavy fines, operational suspension, or total loss of license.
