Sep 26, 2024
US returns 297 antiquities illegally smuggled out of India
The symbolic handover of items from President Joe Biden to Indian leader Narendra Modi included some relics identified as part of ICIJ’s Hidden Treasure investigation.
The symbolic handover of items from President Joe Biden to Indian leader Narendra Modi included some relics identified as part of ICIJ’s Hidden Treasure investigation.
The spate of repatriations followed extensive efforts to trace and recover looted ancient artifacts, including some identified by ICIJ and linked to disgraced art dealer Douglas Latchford.
From government probes to police raids and pop culture, the impact of ICIJ’s unflinching reporting reverberated around the world.
One of the sculptures — a striking stone portrait of Vishnu stolen from a shrine in the ’80s — was gifted to the museum in 1995 and identified decades later by online sleuths.
Billionaire George Lindemann showcased his collection of Khmer treasures and passed them on to his children. But investigations by ICIJ and others traced many of his prized antiquities back to pillaged sacred sites.
Douglas Latchford’s estate agreed to forfeit the money and return a 7th-century statue. Relics tied to the accused smuggler remain in museums and private collections around the world.
The museum’s plan includes hiring a four-person team — led by a new “manager of provenance” — to root out suspect works among the Met’s many treasures with a view to returning them.
Ongoing investigations continue to show that the New York art museum is housing pieces it doesn’t have the rights to.
Over the last 12 months, the newsroom behind the world’s biggest journalism collaborations put out more deep-dive global exposés than ever before.
A museum and private collectors relinquished dozens of religious artifacts linked to alleged antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford, whose offshore trusts were uncovered in the Pandora Papers.
Netscape co-founder Jim Clark paid millions for antiquities bought from alleged trafficker Douglas Latchford, whose secret offshore dealings were exposed in the Pandora Papers.
The repatriation of the ancient statues comes weeks after Pandora Papers reporting identified dozens of Khmer antiquities linked to an accused trafficker in the collections of major art institutions.
The museum met with federal prosecutors in New York after the investigation detailed links between antiquities it holds and an indicted art dealer.
The museum’s plan to send the ancient relics to their native country follows reporting that showed they were linked to Douglas Latchford, indicted in 2019 after decades of alleged trafficking.
Billionaire brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg bought millions of dollars in art, even while U.S. institutions were banned from doing business with them.
The artwork may be worth as much $25 million, and is at the center of a court dispute that involves an offshore company featured in the Panama Papers.