By David Lewis
LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - An estimated $50 million ransom paid to free a hostage seized by al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali in late 2025 has helped to fund their advances across West Africa and the group's global network, U.N. experts said.
A new U.N. report detailing the use of the ransom did not identify the hostage or say who had made the payment.
Three regional sources identified the country having made the payment as the United Arab Emirates. The sources said that an Emirati citizen,
as well as two other foreigners who had been kidnapped but were not referenced in the U.N. report, were freed after money changed hands. They did not explain how it had been done.
In response to questions about the kidnapping and ransom payment, a UAE official did not address the specifics of the case but said the country was unwavering in condemning and countering extremism and terrorism.
"UAE continues to strengthen its counter-terrorism efforts through active engagement in relevant international and regional frameworks, and through sustained efforts to cut off sources of extremist financing and counter extremist ideology," the official said.
U.N. SANCTIONS COMMITTEE DISCUSSED REPORT LAST WEEK
Most of the money went to fighters operating in the Sahel region, but some also flowed to al Qaeda in Yemen and the organisation's core leadership, which is likely to be in Iran or Afghanistan, the U.N. report said.
It was not possible to reach the al Qaeda affiliates in Africa and Yemen for comment. Mali's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.
The two other hostages freed were from Pakistan and Iran, two regional security sources said, without detailing any ransom payments. The Pakistani and Iranian governments did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.N. report, written by a team that monitors al Qaeda and Islamic State on behalf of the U.N. Security Council, was presented to the U.N. sanctions committee behind closed doors last week, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters.
It is dated August 10 but appeared on the U.N. website the following day.
The findings underscore how a single ransom payment can reshape the finances and reach of a militant network. With al Qaeda's strongest affiliates now in Africa, the cash injection has bolstered fighters who have expanded across several West African countries and challenged governments backed by Russian forces, regional security officials and military experts said.
The UAE has become an increasingly important partner for Mali's military-led government, expanding trade and investment links, and is also a key destination for gold produced by Mali's informal miners.
Al Qaeda, once led by powerful figures in Afghanistan and Pakistan and supported by influential branches in the Middle East, has evolved into a decentralized network whose strongest members are now in Africa.
The U.N. report said that most of the "approximately USD50 million ransom received in 2025 for the release of a hostage" was redistributed among katibas – a term used to describe groups operating across the Sahel region that are part of a coalition of militants known as Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
"These funds played a key role in financing the group’s offensive across Mali," the report said, without specifying how the funds were transferred or what they were used for.
JNIM has 7,000 to 8,000 fighters in Africa's Sahel region, half of whom are in Mali, the report said.
The al Qaeda-linked Sahel fighters operate across territory in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger as well as Benin and Togo to the south, while helping support al Qaeda more broadly.
By enabling the militants to pay for the arms, logistics and fighters needed to extend their insurgency across the desert region, the ransom gives them significant influence there, as well as within the global al Qaeda network, experts on the conflict said.
KIDNAPPINGS PROVIDE CASH, UNDERMINE CONFIDENCE IN THE STATE
The U.N. reports do not say how the U.N. experts knew where the ransom money had gone - they are briefed by intelligence services around the world and also obtain information from their own sources.
Advances by JNIM in Mali this year, as well as insurgencies raging in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, have underscored the threat and influence of al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups across West Africa.
In April, JNIM fighters allied with separatist rebels attacked Mali’s capital and a string of towns across the country, killing the defence minister.
Kidnapping has long been a lucrative activity for militant groups, but last year's payment dwarfs previous ransoms, which are generally in the range of $4 million to $6 million for foreigners, security sources said.
JNIM sees kidnappings both as a funding source and as a way to undermine confidence in state security, the U.N. report said.
In June, JNIM issued a statement offering millions of euros for information on the whereabouts of Mali's president and top military officials.
The U.N. report said a portion of the $50 million ransom was allocated to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a member of JNIM that is the official al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa.
This entity then passed some cash on to al Qaeda core leadership, as well as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a faction in Yemen, the report said.
Reuters was unable to reach those al Qaeda groups to verify the information or establish how much money had been received.
(Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Daniel Wallis)
