ISIS is selling fake antiquities – the latest terrorist financing technique

ISIS militants are facing a severe financial crisis after the loss of vast territories in Iraq and Syria. This has prompted the terror group to seek further sources of funding to purchase weapons and pay its fighters’ salaries. In this context, ISIS has turned to the falsification of antiquities, passing them to buyers on as original artifacts.
The counterfeit antiquities find their way abroad through smugglers from Lebanon and Turkey. They reach the black market in Europe and America, where there are dozens of enthusiasts seeking to procure rare artifacts.

Currently, ISIS is afflicted with the fleeing of scores of fighters, especially foreigners from Central Asia and the Caucasus. They represent cadres of professional fighters on whom the organization relies in its current warfare.

They are fleeing because they haven’t been paid for a long time. This is due to ISIS’s loss of control over oil wells and having to retreat from areas that had been subject to ISIS taxes.

Source: AkhbarAlaan