Interpol and the FBI has linked Al Qaeda to the underground trade in stolen art and antiquities and some of these goods may have shown up on eBay

The Middle East is the hotbed for the billion dollar a year underground trade in stolen and fake art and antiquities. It is an old story and has been going on for over hundreds of years. What’s new is the involvement of Islamofacists and terror organizations using the art and antiquities market for terror financing. In fact it could have been the source of some of the funds used to finance the 911 terrorists.

The German magazine Der Spiegel wrote an investigative report titled Art As Financing for Terrorists? The report states that Mohammed Atta, leader of the 911 terrorists contacted a German art expert at Goetingen University during his time living in Hamburg in 2000 or early 2001, claiming that he had access to “ancient artifacts of considerable value” which he wanted to sell to raise funds for the purchase of an aircraft. The exact nature of the art objects was not known, but they were thought to have been cultural relics smuggled out of Afghanistan. The professor apparently recommended that Atta contact Sotheby’s Auction House. No one knows if Atta found a way to sell the artifacts. But, that is not the end of the story.

Recent reports out of Great Britain state that Britain’s MI5 (their equivalent of the FBI), Scotland Yard, Interpol and the US FBI are cooperating on a large investigation that links Al Qaeda, Hamas and other terror organizations to the thriving trade in stolen and fake antiquities. And some of these items may have been sold on eBay and other online auction sites as well as surfacing at major auction houses including Christies, Sotherbys and Bonhams and Butterfields. Selling through the major auction houses is somewhat more difficult because they are very knowledgeable about fakes and maintain lists of stolen items. However, many antiquities are stolen from archeological sites where they have not been cataloged.

Posted: 12|2|06 at 8:15 am. Filed under: Auction News.