US returns US$15 million in antiquities to India in stolen art investigation
- The collection of 250 items includes a bronze Shiva Nataraja valued at US$4 million
- The sprawling probe involves tens of thousands of pieces allegedly smuggled into the US by dealer Subhash Kapoor
US authorities returned about 250 antiquities to India on Thursday in a long-running investigation of a stolen art scheme.
The items, worth an estimated US$15 million, were handed over during a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York. The centrepiece is a bronze Shiva Nataraja valued at US$4 million, authorities said.
The ceremony stems from a sprawling probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The investigation has focused on tens of thousands of antiquities allegedly smuggled into the United States by dealer Subhash Kapoor, who has denied the allegations.
The case “serves as a potent reminder that individuals who maraud sacred temples in pursuit of individual profit are committing crimes not only against a country’s heritage but also its present and future”, District Attorney Cyrus Vance junior said in a statement.
Authorities say Kapoor – jailed in India and facing charges there pending a US extradition request – used his Arts of the Past gallery in New York to traffic looted treasures from India and various countries in Southeast Asia.