On Wednesday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced the return of 133 stolen antiquities to Pakistan.
In a ceremony, the DA’s office returned the antiquities, worth over $14 million, to the Pakistani government. The ceremony was attended by Consul General Aamer Ahmed Atozai and Assistant Special Agent Christopher Lau from Homeland Security. Speaking of the return, DA Alvin Bragg said:
“I thank our team of outstanding investigators and prosecutors, along with our partners at HSI, for returning these more than 100 antiquities back to the people of Pakistan. We will continue to celebrate Manhattan’s status as one of the cultural capitals of the world, while doing everything possible to ensure that the antiquities sitting in our galleries and museums arrived here legally.”
In the detailed statement, the DA’s office said that the stolen works were seized from a number of traffickers, but they specifically named two – Subhash Kapoor and Richard Beale. Subhash Kapoor was one of the foremost dealers of antiquities until he was exposed as a smuggler in 2012. Most prominently, he smuggled antiquities from South Asian and Southeast Asian countries to be sold in the US and Europe. He was indicted in 2019 but is currently serving a 10-year sentence in India since 2022.
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The returned antiquities include a carved stone head of Bodhisattva, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century. Another was the Gold Strato I coin, dating back to 105-85 BCE from Gandhara in modern-day Pakistan. Richard Beale was first arrested when he attempted to smuggle this coin in January 2023; in August, he was convicted of trafficking charges.
