By Ahmad Sadiq
A threatening message appears on a phone. Someone claims to possess an intimate image and threatens to send it to family, friends or colleagues unless money is paid. Fear takes over. The victim transfers the money, hoping the threat will disappear.
But where does that money go next?
That question lies at the heart of a report by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which examines how sextortion can extend far beyond online blackmail into complex financial transactions designed to collect, move and conceal illicit proceeds.
The NFIU’s Money Laundering Typologies Linked to Sextortion in Nigeria, published in August 2026, examines four criminal typologies and ten case studies, illustrating how perpetrators exploit digital financial services, intermediary accounts and cryptocurrency to move money across borders.
Its central message is clear: sextortion is not just an online safety issue. It is also a financial crime and, financial intelligence can help competent authorities understand and disrupt the financial flows that sustain it.
The NFIU report identifies the far-reaching impact perpetrators can have, documenting a case involving more than 100 victims in the United States, including 11 minors.
The case revealed how payments were channelled through peer-to-peer platforms, multiple accounts and Bitcoin wallets before being converted and transferred to Nigeria, highlighting the cross-border financial dimensions of sextortion.
In a separate Nigerian case referenced in the report, authorities arrested six suspects and recovered eight digital devices in connection with an alleged fintech-enabled sextortion network.
Together, these cases illustrate two dimensions of the crime: the human harm inflicted on victims and the financial channels through which perpetrators can profit from their distress.
International data reinforces the wider concern. The US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, an average of 137 reports a day, up from more than 36,000 in 2024. These figures represent reports received by the organisation, not a count of unique victims worldwide.
The FBI also recorded more than 75,000 sextortion-related submissions in 2025, including more than 5,700 submissions involving minors referred to the child-protection organisation.
These figures do not measure the prevalence of sextortion in Nigeria. They, nevertheless, illustrate the wider threat facing digital communities and the importance of understanding how these crimes are financed.
Sextortion often begins with deception, manipulation or the misuse of intimate material. Once a victim is threatened, the perpetrator demands payment, sometimes through digital wallets, bank transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
The NFIU report identifies several channels used to receive and move the proceeds, including banks, fintech platforms, virtual accounts, payment service providers, remittance services, third-party accounts, money mule networks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Funds may pass through several accounts or intermediaries before reaching their ultimate beneficiary. Cryptocurrency transactions and cross-border transfers can add further complexity to the financial trail.
Importantly, the account receiving the initial payment may not belong to the person directing the blackmail. An intermediary may receive the funds, transfer them elsewhere or convert them into another asset.
Understanding these relationships is essential to identifying suspicious financial patterns and supporting further action by the appropriate authorities.
The report examines four key typologies: Fintech-enabled coercive financial exploitation: digital financial services and multiple accounts are used to collect and move proceeds; Malware-facilitated romance cyber sextortion: malicious software and online relationships are exploited to compromise victims and demand money; Organised cyber-enabled exploitation with cryptocurrency layering: cryptocurrency and multiple digital transactions are used to obscure the origin and movement of funds; Cross-border romance-facilitated sextortion: perpetrators exploit online relationships and psychological manipulation to target victims across jurisdictions.
These patterns demonstrate how financial intelligence can help reveal connections between transactions, accounts and activities that might otherwise appear unrelated.
The methods described in the report reflect a digital environment in which perpetrators exploit personal information, concealed identities and rapidly evolving technologies.
Malware may be used to access intimate photographs, contact lists and other sensitive information. Artificial intelligence and deepfake technology can also be exploited to manipulate images or intensify threats, while encrypted messaging and multiple online accounts may complicate efforts by law enforcement to establish what happened.
INTERPOL’s 2026 Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment similarly warns that sextortion is increasingly being integrated into romance and investment scams, sometimes using scripts and AI-generated content. It also highlights growing collaboration between criminal networks and specialised money laundering groups.
Against this backdrop, the NFIU report identifies transaction patterns that may warrant scrutiny by financial institutions and other reporting entities.
These include rapid transfers through multiple accounts, unusual inflows into newly opened accounts, multiple small payments from different locations, sudden increases in account activity, unexplained transfers to cryptocurrency platforms and irregular cross-border transactions.
No single indicator proves that an account is connected to sextortion. The value lies in identifying suspicious patterns, assessing them in context and submitting appropriate reports through established channels.
The NFIU’s Chief Executive Officer, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, underscores the importance of this financial intelligence approach.
“Sextortion exploits digital platforms and financial services to generate and conceal illicit proceeds. Effective responses require strong financial intelligence, timely information sharing and close collaboration with competent authorities to address the financial flows associated with these crimes,” she said.
For financial institutions, this means strengthening transaction monitoring and reporting suspicious activity promptly. For law enforcement authorities, financial intelligence can provide valuable leads to support investigations, alongside digital forensics and cooperation across jurisdictions.
The report identifies persistent challenges, including victims’ reluctance to report incidents because of shame or fear, difficulties verifying digital identities, the complexity of tracing virtual assets and delays in international cooperation that can impede investigations and prosecution.
Its recommendations include stronger inter-agency intelligence sharing, improved cryptocurrency-analysis and digital-forensics capabilities, enhanced victim support, greater public awareness and a review of relevant legal frameworks.
The financial trail is only one part of the story. Behind every extortion payment is a person who may be experiencing fear, humiliation and pressure to act quickly. Victims should not be blamed for being manipulated or threatened. Paying does not guarantee that the blackmail will stop, and further demands may follow.
The NFIU encourages members of the public to protect personal information, exercise caution when engaging with strangers online, avoid suspicious links, strengthen account security and preserve evidence of threats. Victims should report incidents to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
Bakari emphasised that financial intelligence and victim protection must complement the work of law enforcement and other relevant institutions. “Victims should be encouraged to report sextortion without fear or shame. Preserving evidence and reporting threats are essential steps towards securing support and enabling investigations. Protecting victims and addressing the financial dimensions of these crimes must go hand in hand,” she said.
The report was developed with contributions from national stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Justice, INTERPOL, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre and the Office of the National Security Adviser’s National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre.
Their involvement reflects the breadth of the challenge: no single institution can address every aspect of a crime that crosses digital platforms, financial institutions and national borders.
The significance of the NFIU’s report lies in its analysis of the connection between personal exploitation and the financial systems that can sustain it. Sextortion may begin with a private message, but its proceeds can move through a complex chain of accounts, intermediaries and digital assets.
Addressing this threat requires informed financial institutions, effective intelligence sharing, coordinated action by competent authorities and an environment in which victims feel safe enough to seek help. The objective is to make it harder for perpetrators to profit from exploitation.
By identifying financial patterns and sharing actionable intelligence, the NFIU supports the wider national effort to disrupt the financial channels that enable these crimes.
Sadiq, a Development communication Expert and Public Affairs commentator, can be reached via adsadiq@gmail.com
