By Peter Egwuatu & Chukwunonso Okolo
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed operators in Nigeria’s capital market to immediately identify and freeze funds, assets and other economic resources linked to a Nigerian citizen and three Nigerian companies sanctioned by the United States Government for allegedly facilitating financial transactions connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and ISIS-West Africa.
The directive, contained in a circular titled ‘Notice of Sanction’ posted on the commission’s website, requires all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) to freeze the assets of the designated individual and entities without prior notice and report the action to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
The individual named on the sanctions list is Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Adamu and Muhammad Mukhtar. The three companies are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited.
The SEC directed CMREs to “immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated individual and entities in their possession” and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
