US Returns Dozens Of Stolen Antiques Belonging To Cambodia And China Milik

JAKARTA - The United States (US) authorities have returned to return a number of stolen antiques to the country of their rightful owners. This time, the collection of historical antiques that were returned belongs to Cambodia.

A total of 27 Cambodian antiquities were returned, including Hindu and Buddhist statues that were smuggled in and took years of investigation by New York investigators.

Valued at around US$3.8 million, the items include several Buddha, Hindu and Angkor statues, such as a bronze Buddha meditating on a Naga, a Shiva statue and a sandstone statue of Prajnaparamita Buddha.

"The return of these 27 wondrous relics to the Cambodian people restores an important connection between the country's classical Angkor era and its modern customs and beliefs that, for too long, have been plagued by the greed of stolen antiquities," Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona said the antiques were the lost souls of his country's ancestors.

"Cambodia sincerely thanks and commends the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, HSI and all relevant authorities, as well as other private individuals and institutions, including museum partners, who have provided support for this important achievement. Including the transport of these precious statues back to Cambodia for the interests of the Cambodian people and the world," he said.

Separately, according to the website of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, 12 antiques were returned to China in the presence of China's Consul General in New York Huang Ping and US Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Lead Case Agent John Paul Labbat on June 8.

"These items reflect the religion held by people in southwestern China, as well as their cultural and artistic achievements. I would like to thank the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's Antiquities Trading and Homeland Security Investigation Unit for helping retrieve this precious treasure. and return it to China," said Consul Huang Ping

Cambodian and Chinese goods were among the 390 returned to 10 countries after investigations by the Manhattan Antiquities Trade Unit and Homeland Security Investigations totaling more than US$175 million.

These items were secured from the results of an investigation into two people with the initials SK and NW. Specifically for SK, based on an investigation from 2011 to 2020, it is known to have traded more than 2,500 antiques with a value of more than 143 million US dollars.

For information, SK and its international network are said to be targeting antiques from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar and a number of other countries. The Prosecutor's Office first issued an arrest warrant for SK in 2012.

In July 2019, a complaint and a series of arrest warrants for SK and seven co-defendants were filed and an indictment filed in October 2019. In July 2020, the Attorney General's Office filed extradition documents for SK, who is currently in prison in India pending completion of his pending trial. taking place in Tamil Nadu.