NYC Prosecutors Seek Custody of $100M in Artifacts
- April 16, 2015 12:18
New York City prpsecutors are asking a judge for custody of a trove of 2,622 Hindu and Buddhist treasures plundered from South Asia and seized by U.S. authorities. New York storage facilities were raided from 2012 to 2014 to recover the relics as part of the investigation of art dealer Subhash Kapoor.
Kapoor, 65, an American citizen, is awaiting trial in India. He is charged with looting archaelogical sites and then conspiring with black market smugglers.
An estimated $107 million in antiquities have been taken from storage unts in Manhattan and Queens belonging to Kapoor, including a $15 million Buddhist staute.
About 18 American museums have acquired some 500 works from Kapoor. Provenance research is underway on works acquired through the former Madison Avenue dealer, and some pieces have already been identified as stolen. Seven rare artifacts at the Honolulu Museum of Art were among the first items surrendered to authorities, after an alert vacationer noticed a provenance lable listing Kapoor's gallery.
Kapoor was arrested at the Frankfurt airport in 2012. He denies any wrongdoing.
