FBI investigates missing ancient treasures from British Museum
19 hours ago
Katie Razzall, Darin Graham and Larissa Kennelly,BBC News
BBCThe FBI is investigating the sale of what are believed to be hundreds of treasures from the British Museum to American buyers.
BBC It appears US law enforcement also helped return 268 items the museum says belong to it, which were sold to a collector in Washington DC.
The British Museum announced last year that ancient gems, jewelry and other items from its collection had gone missing, stolen or damaged.
A buyer, based in New Orleans, told the BBC that an FBI agent sent him an email asking for information about two pieces he bought on eBay .
The FBI agent said he was assisting the Metropolitan Police with investigating missing or stolen items from the museum.
The buyer said he was no longer in possession of either gemstone and did not believe they had been located by authorities. The FBI has not requested more information from him.
Getty ImagesThe British Museum believes that it There are 1,500 items stolen or missing, 626 have so far been recovered and another 100 have been found but have not yet been returned.
The vast majority of the objects the museum believes to have been stolen were not cataloged and it is still looking for ways to prove they came from from his collection. In some cases, this involves collectors agreeing to donate objects to the museum so that staff can evaluate them.
A senior curator, Peter Higgs, is accused by the British Museum to steal, damage, melt down and sell ancient objects. He denies the allegations.
The museum said it believed Dr Higgs pocketed an estimated total of £100,000.
According to court documents in a civil case, the museum...
19 hours ago
Katie Razzall, Darin Graham and Larissa Kennelly,BBC News
BBCThe FBI is investigating the sale of what are believed to be hundreds of treasures from the British Museum to American buyers.
BBC It appears US law enforcement also helped return 268 items the museum says belong to it, which were sold to a collector in Washington DC.
The British Museum announced last year that ancient gems, jewelry and other items from its collection had gone missing, stolen or damaged.
A buyer, based in New Orleans, told the BBC that an FBI agent sent him an email asking for information about two pieces he bought on eBay .
The FBI agent said he was assisting the Metropolitan Police with investigating missing or stolen items from the museum.
The buyer said he was no longer in possession of either gemstone and did not believe they had been located by authorities. The FBI has not requested more information from him.
Getty ImagesThe British Museum believes that it There are 1,500 items stolen or missing, 626 have so far been recovered and another 100 have been found but have not yet been returned.
The vast majority of the objects the museum believes to have been stolen were not cataloged and it is still looking for ways to prove they came from from his collection. In some cases, this involves collectors agreeing to donate objects to the museum so that staff can evaluate them.
A senior curator, Peter Higgs, is accused by the British Museum to steal, damage, melt down and sell ancient objects. He denies the allegations.
The museum said it believed Dr Higgs pocketed an estimated total of £100,000.
According to court documents in a civil case, the museum...
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