Intelligence Reveals How Terrorists Hide Money Using Women, Dead Persons’ SIMs

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered fresh methods allegedly being used by terrorist financiers to hide the identities of those controlling illicit funds in Nigeria.

The agency said some financiers now rely on proxy bank accounts, pre-registered SIM cards and telephone lines registered to deceased persons to make it difficult for investigators to trace suspicious financial activities back to the real operators.

The disclosure was contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which highlighted weaknesses in Nigeria’s financial and digital identification systems as emerging risks in the fight against terrorism financing and other financial crimes.

According to the report, the problem is partly linked to gaps between SIM registration details and the Bank Verification Number (BVN) of the person actually using a bank account.

The NFIU said criminal networks can exploit these gaps by using telephone numbers that are not registered to the individuals controlling the accounts.

It identified pre-registered SIM cards, SIMs registered in the names of deceased persons and SIMs linked to gender-based proxies among the methods being used.

“They bypass the security link between SIM cards and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) by using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies,” the NFIU said.

The agency explained that the practice can make financial investigations more difficult because the phone number attached to an account may lead investigators to an individual who has no connection with the suspicious transactions.

“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,” it said.

Women Used As Proxies

The NFIU also raised concerns over the use of women as fronts for financial transactions linked to terrorist activities.

The agency said some accounts are opened in the names of wives, sisters or other female associates, while the actual control of the accounts remains with male commanders, logistics managers or other operatives.

In some cases, the account holder may not even know the full nature or volume of transactions taking place through the account.

The NFIU described the practice as “identity laundering.”

“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,” the report stated.

The finding means that the name attached to a bank account may not always reveal who is exercising effective control over the funds.

Investigators may initially follow the identity of the registered account holder. But if another person controls the ATM card, mobile banking application, PIN or other account credentials, the actual beneficiary can remain hidden.

This method can also make it harder to establish links between different transactions and members of a wider financing network.

Dead Persons’ SIMs Used To Break Financial Trail

The use of SIM cards registered to deceased persons presents another challenge.

The NFIU said telephone numbers remain important in modern banking because they are used for mobile banking, transaction alerts, account notifications and other digital services.

When such a number is registered to somebody who is dead or unrelated to the person operating the account, the identity trail becomes difficult to follow.

Pre-registered SIM cards create a similar problem because the person using the number may not be the individual whose details appear in the telecommunications records.

The NFIU said these methods can therefore undermine safeguards designed to connect a bank customer, their phone number and their verified identity.

The agency also identified weak customer identification procedures and disconnected SIM-BVN linkages as vulnerabilities that could be exploited for financial crime and terrorism financing.

Digital Banking Creates New Challenges

Mobile banking, electronic transfers and other digital payment services have made it easier for people and businesses to move money quickly.

However, the same systems can be abused when identity checks are weak or when criminals find ways to operate accounts using other people’s details.

The NFIU specifically pointed to limited oversight of some digital financial services as another emerging concern.

The agency’s findings underline the importance of ensuring that the person using a SIM card, the person operating a bank account and the individual whose identity is attached to the financial records can be properly connected.

Nigeria has continued to strengthen the relationship between the National Identification Number (NIN), BVN and SIM registration systems.

The objective is to make it more difficult for individuals to operate financial and communication services through false, borrowed or outdated identities.

But the NFIU’s latest findings show that gaps can still be exploited even where identity databases exist.

Regulators Intensify Financial Monitoring

The warning comes as Nigerian financial authorities intensify measures aimed at identifying and blocking terrorism financing.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for instance, recently directed capital market-regulated entities to subscribe to the Nigeria Sanctions (NigSac) Alerts system.

The directive followed the designation of six individuals and three entities by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee over alleged links to terrorism financing and support networks.

The SEC ordered regulated entities to immediately identify and freeze funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to designated persons and entities.

They were also directed to report frozen assets and attempted transactions to the relevant authorities and file suspicious transaction reports with the NFIU.

The NFIU already requires financial institutions to carry out customer identification and due diligence measures and to report transactions considered suspicious.

Why The Discovery Matters

The latest disclosure shows that terrorist financing is not limited to the movement of large sums of money through obvious channels.

Criminal networks can attempt to conceal their activities by manipulating identities and using legitimate financial accounts as fronts.

A bank account belonging to an ordinary person may therefore be used without immediately revealing the person actually directing the transactions.

The same applies to telephone numbers registered to people who have no connection with the financial activity.

The challenge, however, is not only to identify suspicious accounts after transactions have taken place.

It is also to detect unusual patterns early enough to prevent funds from being moved through several accounts before investigators can establish who is behind them.