NY Billionaire Michael Steinhardt Surrenders $70M Worth Of Looted Ancient Art
Image via Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Famed investor Michael Steinhardt has recently turned in 180 pieces of stolen art relics, believed to be worth over US$70 million in total. The mogul will now face an “unprecedented” lifetime ban barring him from acquiring antiquities after investigators found that he was in possession of looted ancient artifacts.
“For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.
“His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection.”
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the ancient art Steinhardt owned had been smuggled out of 11 countries by 12 different criminal networks. The probe first began in 2017, when authorities looked into a Bull’s Head statue nicked from Lebanon during the country’s civil unrest.
The investigation then turned its attention to Steinhardt’s “acquisition, possession, and sale of more than 1,000 antiquities since at least 1987.” The US authorities worked together with those in Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Turkey, to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Steinhardt viewed these precious artifacts as simple commodities—things to collect and own,” remarked Homeland Security Investigations New York Acting Special Agent in Charge, Ricky J Patel.
“He failed to respect that these treasures represent the heritage of cultures around the world from which these items were looted, often during times of strife and unrest,” explained Patel.
The items seized included a Stag’s Head Rhyton, a vessel of a stag’s head which was used in ceremonies sometime around 400 BCE. It appeared on the antiquities market after having been stolen from Milas, Turkey, and is worth US$3.5 million. Another artifact was the Larnax, a chest from Crete, Greece that was once used to store human remains in 1400 - 1200 BCE.
Interestingly, instead of heading to trial to argue the legality of the works, the hedge fund manager agreed to return all the artifacts to their rightful owners without putting up a fight.
Steinhardt’s legal team, Andrew J Levander and Theodore V Wells Jr, told CNN that their client was glad not to have faced any charges, “and that items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries.”
“Many of the dealers from whom Mr Steinhardt bought these items made specific representations as to the dealers’ lawful title to the items, and to their alleged provenance. To the extent these representations were false, Mr Steinhardt has reserved his rights to seek recompense from the dealers involved,” the legal representations added.
[via CNN, cover image via Manhattan District Attorney’s Office]
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