Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the significant disruption of the sale and/or trade of oil and antiquities by, for, on behalf of, or to benefit the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Terrorist groups such as ISIS rely on financing and support networks to sustain operations and launch attacks. Illicit oil operations and trafficking in looted archaeological objects from Syria and Iraq are key sources of revenue that generate hard currency and enable ISIS to carry out its brutal tactics and oppress innocent civilians. ISIS’s damage to and looting of cultural and historical sites in Syria and Iraq have destroyed irreplaceable evidence of ancient life and society.
Ancient and historical coins, jewelry, carved gemstones, sculptures, plaques, and cuneiform tablets are among the types of cultural objects that ISIS has trafficked. With support from the U.S. Department of State, the International Council of Museums developed the Emergency Red Lists of Cultural Objects at Risk to present the categories of cultural objects looted and trafficked from Syria and Iraq. They can be viewed here and here.
The Department of State hopes this reward generates information regarding individuals or entities engaged in the production, facilitation, processing, smuggling, distribution, sale, and trade of oil and antiquities that benefit ISIS, as well as information regarding smuggling networks, methods, and routes underlying these activities.
