Soldiers riding in a military truck on a dusty street in an African town, with buildings and a barrel in the foreground.
A United Nations report says a roughly $50 million ransom paid in late 2025 to free a hostage in Mali helped bankroll the expansion of Al-Qaeda-linked militants across West Africa. The report says that most of the funds went to the Sahel-based Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, while some were reportedly transferred to Al-Qaeda’s leadership and its affiliate in the Middle East. The report does not identify the hostage or payer, but regional sources say the United Arab Emirates covered the ransom to secure the release of an Emirati citizen and two other foreign captives. JNIM, which has an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters across the Sahel, reportedly used the funds to strengthen its operations, including purchasing weapons, supporting logistics, and recruiting fighters.