U.S. Returns to India 248 Stolen Antiquities Worth $15 Million

News

U.S. authorities returned 248 pieces of looted art worth around US$15 million to India after most of the artifacts were seized from suspected art smuggler Subash Kapoor, who ran a gallery in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office reported.

Related Articles

Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?
Calls for Anti-Corruption in Ukraine’s Post-War Rebuild
As Ukraine looks toward recovery from the ongoing conflict, international partners and reform advocates call for embedding anti-corruption measures in post-war restoration efforts.
Mining Crimes Pose a Challenge for Law Enforcement, Experts Say
A recent report found that only one in three of environmental crime cases in the Amazon produced a parallel financial crime investigation from authorities.
Kyrgyz Elite Targeted as Japarov Allies Gain Key Assets
After the killing of crime boss Kamchy Kolbaev, Kyrgyz authorities have intensified their crackdown on prominent business figures suspected of financing organized crime. But is it justice—or something else?

Reported by

Damir Bešlija
November 2nd, 2021
Art Police Operation Smuggling
Afghanistan, India, United States

Kapoor was arrested in 2011 at a German airport for smuggling and was extradited to India in 2012 where he is currently on trial. The U.S. also issued an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012 and in July 2020, the D.A.'s Office filed extradition paperwork for Kapoor and his co-defendants.

Kapoor and his team of conspirators have been indicted for the looting, illegal exportation, and sale of ancient art and cultural heritage from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other nations.

The criminal network smuggled art looted from Asia and sold the pieces in Kapoor’s gallery ‘Art of the Past’ on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. From 2011 to 2021 the New York authorities and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) recovered more than 2,500 items trafficked by Kapoor and his team.

Among the artifacts returned to India last week were a bronze Shiva Nataraja, from the 12th century, valued at $4 million. The statue was stolen in the 1960s from a temple. India also got back a bronze Nandikesvara and Kankalamurti, which were stolen from the Sri Narasinganata Temple in May 1985.

“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to combating the plundering of cultural heritage and the illicit trafficking of cultural property. When items like these are stolen and looted, we are determined to make things right, and ultimately return them home where they belong,” said HSI’s New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.

The illegal antiquities trade is a multi-billion dollar global industry, according to a 2018 report by Standard Charter Bank. Its beneficiaries are not just high society art aficionados like Kapoor and his Manhattan clients, but often the trade is a major funding source for criminal and militant groups on the supply side.

Related Reporting