BARNSTABLE – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill authored by Congressman William Keating that cuts financing to ISIL and other terrorist groups through the illegal trafficking in cultural property.
The Prevent Trafficking in Cultural Property Act, will improve coordination between Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to prevent stolen antiquities and other illegally imported cultural objects from entering the U.S.
The bill will also support the investigation and prosecution of persons engaged in the trafficking of cultural property.
“ISIL has waged a campaign of destroying all evidence of the region’s rich cultural, historical and religious identity and sells what it does not destroy on the black market to generate income for its terrorist activities,” said Rep. Keating. “This legislation will aid in staving off trafficking as a financing mechanism, while also protecting priceless antiquities.”
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