Report: Terror financiers use dead persons’ accounts, SIMs to hide money trails

Terrorist financiers in Nigeria are increasingly exploiting proxy bank accounts, pre-registered SIM cards and phone numbers linked to deceased persons to conceal the identities of those controlling illicit funds, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has disclosed, according to a report by Punch.

The disclosure is contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, which identified weak customer identification procedures, disconnected links between SIM registrations and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), as well as proxy accounts, as growing risks in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

According to the agency, terrorist facilitators have found ways around security mechanisms designed to connect a bank customer’s mobile number with their verified financial identity, using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies to bypass the SIM-BVN link.

The NFIU also identified the use of women as financial proxies, noting that accounts may be opened in the names of wives, sisters or female associates while male commanders or logistics managers secretly control them through ATM cards, mobile-banking credentials and PINs. The agency described the practice as “identity laundering,” warning that the growth of digital and mobile financial services has created further opportunities for such abuse.