Who sponsored the Mautes?
How did the Maute Group raise resources for their siege of Marawi City? That, as of yesterday, was the P79.5-million question. A band of Marines found P52.5 million in cash and P27 million worth of checks—including one that appeared to have been issued by a local government unit—in a house that the terrorists had taken over, then later abandoned. Authorities have yet to reveal who issued those checks, whether or not the cash was authentic, and how the Mautes got their hands on it.
Whenever acts of terror get reported, these are often framed as security or law enforcement issues. In a way, this keeps such incidents distant. Of course, we worry about the soldiers sent to the frontlines and the civilians trapped in danger zones. Yet most of us may be unaware that some of our choices as consumers may have, without our knowing it, contributed to the operations of terrorist cells. That’s why any information on how these operations are funded will make it easier, potentially, for people to understand how they spread, but also how they can be stopped.
Twelve years ago, Foreign Policy editor Moses Naim wrote: “Since 9/11 (and for that matter, even before) terrorist cells uncovered from Manila to Hamburg and London to New Jersey have had in common some use of illicit trade as a means to support themselves and fund their activities.” Sales of counterfeit goods were among the funding sources of various terrorist networks, including Hezbollah, IRA, and al-Qaeda, Naim reported in his book “Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy.”
In other words, the international traffic in fake bags, shirts and brake pads, among countless other goods, as well as the widespread sale of pirated DVDs is believed to have paid for the food, fuel, firearms, and explosives of terror groups. Consider, too, that the same global online connections that allow people to inform themselves about other cultures also enable groups like ISIS to spread its propaganda to recruit members.
Among Naim’s recommendations was for all concerned—not just governments, but also civil society, business alliances, and individuals—to stop thinking of piracy, drug dealing, human trafficking, and money laundering as unconnected problems. To reflect on how everyone can help counter radicalization and terrorism.
What will government investigators learn about the Mautes from the millions they’ve supposedly left behind? Any connections they uncover should be instructive.