![]() ![]() ![]() “Support” can include the provision of financial services, training or advice, transportation, lodging, false documents, communications equipment, weapons, and more connected with the sale of blood antiquities. The broad definition of “support” gives the statute its teeth, at least in theory. Any deaths connected with these activities may result in a life sentence for those involved. Violations could result in a fine, imprisonment up to 15 years, or both. The FBI cautioned that buying looted items from ISIS-or helping cover up these sales-could result in prosecution under a federal law that criminalizes providing “material support or resources” to terrorists. borders.Īs early as August 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned art collectors and dealers that stolen artifacts were entering the U.S. Similarly, the National Stolen Property Act criminalizes any stolen items crossing state or U.S. The Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act bans the importation of stolen cultural property belonging to any member nation. law exclusively governs the trafficking of stolen cultural artifacts. Experts think that the art and antiquities business will continue to buoy ISIS because of high international demand and the lower relative risk as compared to selling other types of illegal goods such as drugs.įor these reasons, dismantling the antiquities trade is vital to stopping ISIS.Ĭountries destabilized by terrorism often have trouble enforcing laws against antiquities smuggling, so the burden falls to the Western nations whose residents import the items. One archaeologist has estimated that around 80 percent of antiquities sold online have no legal documentation.Īlthough the authenticity of artifacts coming out of conflict zones may be doubtful, demand for them remains quite high. ISIS also sometimes holds these items for years before selling them, making them more difficult to trace. ISIS grants licenses to certain approved individuals to sell the artifacts, which are often shipped through Singapore or Thailand before reaching their final destination-a way to obscure their looted origins. The importance of these “blood antiquities” grew when ISIS began losing access to revenue-producing oil reserves. Chiefly Western customers paid generously for irreplaceable goods such as paintings, sculptures, Roman mosaics, and Egyptian sarcophagi. ISIS then sold the items left intact to art collectors around the world. In 2014, ISIS began looting and destroying cultural heritage sites like the famed ancient city of Palmyra. The ad hoc nature of domestic regulatory oversight and policing gives rise to a need for legislation that can stem the flow of antiquities revenue going to ISIS, which some estimates place as high as $100 million. These complex operations span the globe and implicate parties as diverse as archeologists and Facebook. Sales of stolen cultural property and art from conflict zones around the world have helped terrorist organizations like ISIS continue to fund their illegal activities. Its status as a global art dealer is less well publicized. The Islamic State (ISIS) is known around the world for its horrendous acts of terrorism. ![]()
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