PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – A Ugandan national identified as Abubakar Swalleh, with alleged terrorist ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) or Al-Qaeda, has been red-flagged by the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT).

The FIUTT issued a directive ordering all financial institutions in the twin island republic to freeze bank accounts or assets that may have been directly or indirectly affiliated with Swalleh.

The instructions issued by FIUTT director Nigel Stoddrd came on June 17, the same day that Justice Karen Reid gave an order following an application made by Attorney General John Jeremie on June 11, 2025 for a declaratory order under section 22B of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Chapter 12:07, between the AG and Swalleh

“You remember between the years 2013 and 2018 there were a lot of people right here in Trinidad and Tobago that were heading to Syria to fight for ISIL. We observed over a period of time financial trails of persons sending money to various persons affiliated with this organisation,” the intelligence source pointed out.

On June 16,  a day before Justice Reid’s ruling, Swalleh was placed on the United Nations Al-Qaeda Sanctions List as being associated with ISIL or Al-Qaeda for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of ISIL, listed as Al-Qaeda in Iraq”, for “recruiting for Al-Qaeda, ISIL, or any cell, affiliate, splinter group, or derivative thereof”, and for “otherwise supporting acts or activities of Al-Qaeda, ISIL, or any cell, affiliate, splinter group, or derivative thereof”,

In July last year, Swalleh was extradited from Zambia to Uganda, where he was charged with offences of terrorism financing and rendering support to a terrorist organisation.

He was also accused of supporting the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group formed during an uprising in Uganda but has since been based in Congo since the 1990s and pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019.

Three weeks after Swalleh’s extradition to Uganda, the US Department of the Treasury also took action against Swalleh and two other individuals associated with ISIL and ISIS on the African continent. The United States Department of Treasury said, “These individuals serve as key financiers and trusted operatives, enabling the activities of ISIS and its leaders across Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa.”

Making specific reference to Swalleh, the US Department of Treasury said, “He is involved in the physical transfer of funds from South Africa to the DRC. Additionally, Swalleh facilitates the movement of ISIS-affiliated individuals from Uganda to South Africa, and vice versa.