At least $50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: that is the king's ransom paid two weeks ago to jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law.
Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of "economic jihad".
Its goal: oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali's decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralysing the west African country's economy.
In June, the JNIM threatened to strike any foreign businesses and industries installed in Mali, as well as any enterprise doing business with the Malian government without its "authorisation".
Since then the group -- which hopes to cement its status as one of the most powerful of the jihadist factions to plague the region by expanding towards the Atlantic coast -- has made good on its promise.
It has attacked and burnt tankers carrying vital fuel to landlocked Mali from the coasts of Senegal or Ivory Coast, launched assaults on factories and mines alike -- and kidnapped more foreigners than ever before.
"Between May and October 2025, at least 22 foreign nationals have been abducted -- roughly double the previous record of 13 in 2022," Heni Nsaibia, Senior West Africa Analyst for the ACLED conflict monitor, told AFP.
Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, Emiratis and Iranians are all among the victims, together with a Serbian, a Croat and a Bosniak, Nsaibia added.
'Highest Known' Ransom
The JNIM demanded the $50 million ransom after kidnapping a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family involved in the gold trade near the capital Bamako on September 26, according to a source close to the negotiations and another Malian security source.
Two of his business partners, an Iranian and a Pakistani, were also abducted.
A first sum of 400 million CFA Francs (more than $700,000) was then sent to the jihadists in exchange for proof that the hostages were alive, the source close to the negotiations said.
The JNIM then freed the trio at the end of October after a ransom of "$50 million at least", the source added.
That sum "represents the highest known ransom in the region and constitutes a major financial boost for (the JNIM)", said Nsaibia.
Who actually paid the ransom is unknown.
But a Malian security source, who confirmed the exorbitant total, said JNIM also obtained "the release of around 30 of its prisoners" held by the Malian intelligence services.
"Malian soldiers were also released during the same exchange. It is an astounding deal in terms of its scale and the elements involved, especially in the current context," the security source continued.
For Rida Lyammouri, a researcher at the Policy Center for the New South, the ransom will allow the JNIM to "maintain its current level of military engagement, including the economic blockade on Bamako, for a prolonged period".
Swelling War Chest
"Such a haul will only serve to boost the JNIM's ambitions to expand and establish a lasting presence in the Sahel and the coastal states of Africa," Lyammouri added.
Liam Karr, an analyst at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), pointed out that those "funds will help the group procure more weapons, such as commercial drones, explosives, and small arms, as well as pay salaries to fighters".
The withdrawal of French troops in the wake of the coup has left a security vacuum exploited by the jihadists which the junta's new security partners -- including Russia -- have failed to fill, Lyammouri said.
And the JNIM still holds several other hostages who, once ransomed, will swell its war chest even further.
Most are abducted in the west of the country, where around 80 percent of Mali's gold production is mined, according to the Soufan Centre consultancy.
At least 11 Chinese citizens have been abducted in western Mali in attacks on seven industrial sites, of which six were run by Chinese companies, according to the AEI think tank.
And just last week, five Indians working for an electricity company and an Egyptian were kidnapped in the same region.
"Targeting foreign nationals drives away foreign investment, undermining a key revenue stream for the Malian junta," notably in the mining sector, said Karr, the AEI analyst.
With the JNIM's grip tightening, the United States and the United Kingdom announced two weeks ago that it was pulling out all non-essential personnel from Mali, while many embassies have urged their citizens to leave the country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
