A United Nations report says an estimated $50 million ransom paid in late 2025 for the release of a hostage in Mali helped finance an Al-Qaeda-linked militant offensive across West Africa. The report did not identify the hostage or confirm who paid the ransom, although regional sources said the United Arab Emirates was responsible. An Emirati citizen and two other foreign hostages were reportedly freed after the payment.

The UN said most of the money was redistributed among fighters operating across the Sahel, while part of it was transferred to Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula and the group’s central leadership. The funds reportedly strengthened the militants’ ability to obtain weapons, support logistics and expand their operations across the region.

The report estimated that Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-linked coalition, has between 7,000 and 8,000 fighters across the Sahel, with about half based in Mali. The group operates in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and has also expanded its activities into Benin and Togo. The UN warned that kidnapping serves not only as a source of funding but also as a means of weakening public confidence in state security.

Mali has faced a prolonged security crisis since 2012, involving Al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked groups, criminal gangs and separatists. The country has been governed by the military since successive coups in 2020 and 2021, with authorities having pledged to restore security. The UN findings highlight how ransom payments can provide militants with substantial resources to sustain and widen their insurgency.