Monday, November 21, 2016

Forming a Cultural Heritage Crimes Prosecution Team to Hold Antiquities Traffickers Accountable

If you can imagine a world where police recover stolen cash, illegal drugs, and hijacked autos but let the bank robbers, narcotics dealers, and carjackers go free, then you can understand the unrestrained business of transnational antiquities trafficking.

It’s time for a team of skilled and motivated prosecutors to build solid criminal cases to convict and imprison smugglers, and to send a strong signal that assailing heritage will be met with tough consequences.

Antiquities traffickers are making illegal profits and getting away with crimes like smuggling, receiving stolen property, money laundering, wire fraud, lying on customs forms, and lying to federal agents. While customs officials sometimes seize illegal antiquities—when officers actually find these hard-to-spot imports—traffickers rarely face prosecution. Among the few defendants who have been prosecuted, many have exited the courthouse with minor convictions or light sentences while retaining their cash and criminal networks.

A specialized group of prosecutors should be assembled to hold traffickers accountable. A modest group of four specialized prosecutors should be assigned to form a new Cultural Heritage Crimes (CHC) Section within the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC. The CHC Team would be headed by one prosecutor. Another prosecutor in the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section would be assigned to work with the CHC Section when heritage trafficking cases arise. A third attorney would be assigned to handle cases in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, at the heart of America’s art and antiquities marketplace, while another would pursue forfeitures and repatriations in that office’s Civil Division. All four would be expected to work with each other and with federal, state, county, and local investigators.

Because transnational antiquities trafficking mimics the methods and scope of wildlife trafficking, the objectives and activities of DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section (ECS) should be mirrored. DOJ explains, “An ECS prosecutor often gets involved early in an investigation, such as when the investigator swears out a search warrant or when a grand jury’s investigative power is needed. Once the necessary evidence is collected, the prosecutor presents the case to the grand jury for indictment. After indictment, the prosecutor guides the case through complex white collar and environmental law issues and prepares it for trial.”

Among the CHC Team’s objectives would be to

• Seek criminal convictions and meaningful sentences.
• Press for fair but punitive sentences that deter other would-be smugglers and accomplices.
• Break down criminal infrastructures by dismantling supply, transportation, conservation, distribution, marketing, legal, accounting, and sales networks.
• Cultivate intelligence on the operation of the black market.
• Support federal investigators by reviewing search warrants and coordinating overseas law enforcement resources.
• Partner with state, county, and local authorities.
• Provide investigative and legal training.

Implementing this recommendation would more effectively hold antiquities traffickers accountable. To learn more about this proposal, read the policy brief titled “How to End Impunity for Antiquities Traffickers: Assemble a Cultural Heritage Crimes Prosecution Team” at the new Antiquities Coalition Think Tank.

Text and original photos copyrighted by Cultural Heritage Lawyer, a blog commenting on matters of cultural property law, art law, cultural heritage policy, antiquities trafficking, and museum risk management. Blog url: culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of any blog post without the express written consent of CHL is prohibited. CHL is a service of Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law & Policy Research, Inc.

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 Repatriating the Past: Filling the Holes in Egypt’s History Left by Looting – Katie A. Paul, The Antiquities Coalition

UPON ENTERING THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM AS TOURISTS SCAN THE CASES OF “WONDERFUL THINGS,” ONE CASE CONTAINING A STUNNING SARCOPHAGUS STANDS OUT. IT’S EYE CATCHING NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE ARTIFACT, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE LABEL DESCRIBING ITS LOCATION SAYS “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” NO, THIS IS NOT A REPRODUCTION—IT’S A STOLEN ANTIQUITY THAT WAS TRAFFICKED OUT OF EGYPT, AND ONE OF THE FEW LOOTED PIECES THAT HAS MADE ITS WAY HOME.

Known as “Shesep-Amun-Tay-Es-Heret,” or simply “the Lady of the House,” this artifact was the highlight of a repatriation ceremony that took place in April 2015 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS ICE) seized the sarcophagus in 2009, not from a shipping container or from the auction block, but from an antiquities dealer’s garage in Brooklyn during the investigation for a case dubbed “Operation Mummy’s Curse.”

Antiquities looting in many places is as old as the antiquities themselves. The ancient Egyptians even designed their tombs to thwart the looters of antiquity. But looting today goes far beyond the pillaging done by tomb raiders in ancient history. After the 2011 Arab Spring, the acceleration of looting in countries across the Middle East and North Africa has skyrocketed to levels previously unseen. In recent years, Egypt has fallen victim to some of the worst industrialized looting occurring in the MENA region, with well-armed gangs composed of dozens of people raiding some of the country’s most precious archaeological sites, including those at the country’s most famous site: the Pyramids of Giza.

Since 2011, Egypt has seen two uprisings, multiple government transitions, ministerial changes, engaged in the fight against a terrorism insurgency, and battled a dwindling economy. Yet, through all of these challenges they have continued—and even escalated—their fight against cultural racketeering. For six years I have followed the ups and downs of Egypt’s government, but have followed the threats to Egypt’s heritage and their efforts to combat them even more closely. And as the nation suffers from a variety of crises—including a dismaying drop in revenue generated by visits to archaeological sites—they push forward to protect the history that has defined their country, and our past, for millennia.

Homeward Bound

Egypt is fighting to get its heritage back. And a wave of returns has begun to swell with the repatriation of artifacts that have been smuggled out of the country both before and after the revolution.

One post-Revolution case in particular that gained international attention was the 2012 seizure of two Egyptian sarcophagi found in a Jerusalem antiquities shop. The items had been looted from Egypt following the security vacuum caused by the Arab Spring. This case didn’t gain attention for the size of the artifacts or the value they could bring to a dealer, but for the lengths that traffickers went to in order to get the objects out of Egypt. The painted wooden sarcophagi, described as “breathtaking” by the Israel Antiquities Authority, had been sawed in half so they could be smuggled in a suitcase. Deliberate damage of an artifact to such an extent is a tactic not often discussed in media when stories of illicit antiquities trafficking emerge.

The objects were returned to Egypt in 2016 by Israeli authorities, just two of several dozen repatriated by Israel since the 2011 revolution. I had the opportunity to speak to the conservators who are beginning the painstaking process of preserving and analyzing these beautiful sarcophagi tucked away in the conservation lab at the Egyptian Museum. The young conservators tasked with helping restore these artifacts were dismayed at the severity of the damage. The looting and trafficking caused irreparable damage along with the loss of vital information that can lend clues as to whom these sarcophagi belonged and from where they came. Months of restoration are now in store for these breathtaking pieces.

But not all of Egypt’s recovered objects are tucked away for restoration. Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has worked tirelessly to repatriate artifacts stolen and trafficked overseas, recovering over 500 artifacts in 2016 alone. In fact, they have repatriated so many artifacts in recent years that in early 2016, the Egyptian Museum hosted an entire exhibition dedicated to repatriated artifacts—the first of its kind in the country.

Egypt’s collection of artifacts that have made their way home continues to grow. On December 1, a ceremony held at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC marked the second repatriation of looted artifacts to Egypt from the U.S. in just two years. Since 2007, Egypt has seen dozens of artifacts returned from the United States thanks to the efforts of investigators at DHS ICE. But this repatriation by U.S. authorities was just one of a series of repatriations from around the world so far this month.

Out of Egypt and Onto the Market

Egypt’s fight to protect its heritage both at home and abroad is not one that is only fought on the ground at archaeological sites or by diplomats behind closed doors, but also in the global art and antiquities market.

These artifacts being trafficked out of Egypt to be sold on the international antiquities market are not simply a few coins smuggled in the bags or pockets of individuals (although that happens too). These are large scale items which take immense effort and resources to move under the radar, often making their way through transit countries like Israel, Qatar, and the UAE, or to major market regions like the U.S., U.K., and Western Europe.

So how does an artifact on the scale of a sarcophagus make its way from the sands of Egypt to a place like a Brooklyn antiquities dealer’s garage? With a significant amount of effort, resources, and knowledge of trafficking. The “Lady of the House” is but one example of the U.S. market as a harbinger of demand for illicit antiquities. The larger the object, the higher the risks of getting caught, high risks are often only undertaken with the chance for high reward. And with the U.S. now making up 43% of the global art and antiquities market, there is ample opportunity for high rewards for dealers of illicit material in the United States. The “Operation Mummy’s Curse” investigation alone has resulted in $3 million in antiquities seizures thus far.

While the global art and antiquities market has seen ups and downs over the past 5 years, the U.S. share of the global market has remained on a steady incline during that same time (2011 – 29%; 2012 – 33%; 2013- 38%; 2014- 39%; 2015- 43%), even with overall downturn globally. With the U.S. art and antiquities market seeing its biggest share of the market over the past five years, it’s clear that a high demand for art and antiquities remains With the U.S. currently holding the largest share of the global market, collectors and dealers in the U.S. and regions that drive demand must remain vigilant in vetting artifacts from areas in crisis such as Egypt.

As Egypt works to rebuild its devastated tourism industry and reinvigorate its economy, the return of Egypt’s heritage is critical to filling the holes of the country’s storied past that has been the draw for tourists for centuries. With the ramped up efforts to repatriate Egypt’s heritage, we have yet to see what elements of the past the future may hold.

Written by Katie A. Paul, The Antiquities Coalition

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Antiquities Coalition Launches New Think Tank Promoting Innovative Solutions To Combat Cultural Racketeering

PR Newswire Nov 18, 2016, 12:27 PM

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Antiquities Coalition today launched a Cultural Heritage Think Tank to explore innovative solutions to pressing challenges in cultural heritage, publishing the first in a new series of policy briefs by distinguished specialists from the public and private sectors.

Attorney Ricardo A. St. Hilaire wrote the inaugural paper, “How to End Impunity for Antiquities Traffickers: Assemble a Cultural Heritage Crimes Prosecution Team.” It explores how the Department of Justice (DOJ) can take a leadership role in the global fight against cultural racketeering—the illicit antiquities trade—by appointing designated prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against smugglers, corrupt dealers, and their accomplices. St. Hilaire is an experienced litigator, former chief prosecutor, and former cultural property law professor, who authors the award-winning Cultural Heritage Lawyer Blog.

Cultural racketeering is one of the greatest threats now facing our world heritage. However, its consequences go far beyond preservation, to impact economics, foreign policy, and national security. Experts warn it has become a multi-billion dollar illegal industry that funds armed conflict and violent extremist organizations around the globe. But when compared to similar transnational crimes—from arms running, to drug smuggling, or even the illicit wildlife trade—there is still much we do not know. As the looting and smuggling of ancient treasures increases, especially across the Middle East and North Africa, the demand for strong scholarship is greater than ever.

The Antiquities Coalition’s think tank will meet this need by bringing high-quality, innovative, and results-oriented research to the world’s policymakers. It aims to strengthen public understanding of the threats facing our shared heritage, and more importantly, develop better solutions to protect it. To achieve this goal, the think tank is drawing from a wide range of international experts as authors, from the fields of preservation, business, law, security, and technology.

“With this new think tank, the Antiquities Coalition is providing leading thinkers a platform to promote innovative recommendations to safeguard our cultural heritage,” said Deborah Lehr, the organization’s chair and founder. “We are focused on developing concrete and practical solutions for policy makers that are based on economic, cultural, and political realities.”

The think tank’s first publication, by St. Hilaire, puts forward one such concrete and practical response to a major problem confronting our cultural heritage: the failure of the U.S. criminal justice system to criminally prosecute antiquities looters and smugglers.

In his brief, St. Hilaire notes that in the last decade alone, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recovered and returned more than 7,500 illicit artifacts to thirty countries as part of its fight against cultural racketeering. These restitutions, however, have rarely led to the successful prosecution, conviction, or imprisonment of antiquities traffickers. As a result, known wrongdoers have remained in business, and the American art market’s vulnerability to cultural heritage contraband has persisted. By prioritizing repatriations over indictments, the Federal government’s ‘seize and send’ policy has failed to curb a vast black market industry, which officials say is funding transnational crime, conflict, and terrorism.

“If you can imagine a world where police recover stolen cash, illegal drugs, and hijacked autos but let the bank robbers, narcotics dealers, and carjackers go free, then you can understand the unrestrained business of transnational antiquities trafficking,” said St. Hilaire. “It’s time for a team of skilled and motivated prosecutors to build solid criminal cases to convict and imprison smugglers, corrupt importers, and crooked dealers; to stop ringleaders from continuing to orchestrate looting, distribution, and financial networks, and to send a strong signal that assailing peoples’ heritage will be met with tough consequences.”

St. Hilaire’s brief is available in full on our website. New papers will be released on a regular basis. Future authors include the University of Chicago’s Dr. Lawrence Rothfield, and Oxford University’s Dr. Neil Brodie, among others.

To subscribe to the think tank publications—and to stay informed of the Antiquities Coalition’s other work to fight cultural racketeering—please sign up for our e-newsletter here

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About the Antiquities Coalition The Antiquities Coalition unites a diverse group of experts in the fight against cultural racketeering: the illicit trade in antiquities by organized criminals and terrorist organizations. This plunder for profit funds crime and conflict around the world—erasing our past and threatening our future. The Coalition’s innovative and practical solutions tackle crimes against heritage head on, empowering communities and countries in crisis. Learn more at theantiquitiescoalition.org.

Contact: Sonam Deki

press@theantiquitiescoalition.org

202.798.5245 (T), 202.768.9778 (C)

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/antiquities-coalition-launches-new-think-tank-promoting-innovative-solutions-to-combat-cultural-racketeering-300365901.html

SOURCE The Antiquities Coalition

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Art and Cultural Heritage Crime Symposium

The art world’s unregulated transactions and lack of transparency, combined with political instability and skyrocketing demand from the art market, continues to fuel art crime. Efforts to abate the increasing trend of trafficking in stolen, looted, and fraudulent art challenges not only the legal system, but artist’s legacies and our cultural heritage. Organized by cofounders Jane C.H. Jacob of Art Vérité, Alice Farren-Bradley of the Museum Security Network, and Christopher A. Marinello of Art Recovery Group, this year’s Art and Cultural Heritage Crime Symposium will examine topics that include “Behind the Scenes: What the Panama Papers Mean for the Art World,” “The Cautionary Tale of Knoedler & Co.,” “Tracing the Provenance of Stolen Art,” “The Many Faces of Art Fraud,” “The Sound of Silence: Musical Instrument Theft and Fraud,” “Architecture to Artifact,” “A New Phase in Modigliani Studies,” “Sacrificing the Sacred to Conquer a Nation,” “Protecting Cultural Heritage Through Technology,” and “The Forger’s Apprentice,” among others. Each day will end with a panel discussion covering recent initiatives and possible solutions, led by the symposium organizers.

Speakers include leading authorities from the FBI; specialists from AXA Art Corporation, AIG, and auction houses such as Christie’s and Tarisio; and national and international attorneys from Greenberg Traurig, Herrick Feinstein, Grossman, Davis Wright Tremaine, Clarick Gueron Reisbaum, Pryor Cashman, AG International Law, Lanter Attorneys-at-Law Zurich, and Irell & Manella; world-class scholars from the University of California, Berkeley, Shawnee State University, ASOR at Boston University, Chapman University, Stanford Law School, CUNY, UCLA School of Law, and Columbia University; and curatorial and conservation experts from The Modigliani Project, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Orion Analytical, and Art Conservation Group.

CLE units and financial aid are available for those who qualify. Attorneys attending the symposium can earn 16 CLEs in Professional Practice: 6.5 CLEs (November 1), 6.5 CLEs (November 2), and 3.0 CLEs (November 3). CLEs are transitional.

*The full symposium discount rate is only available to NYU students, alumni, faculty, and adjunct faculty, as well as to NYSBA members.

Symposium Information

Dates: November 1–3, 2016

Time: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Registration Fees:

Full Symposium: $875 | Single Day: $325

NYU Students, Alumni, and Faculty and NYSBA Members*: $825

Lunch Registration: $25 per day

Location:

Woolworth Building, 15 Barclay Street, New York, NY

Register Now

Please Note: This symposium, when attended in its entirety, counts as a 10-session elective for NYUSPS students previously registered for art-related certificate programs. For additional information on the symposium, please call 212-998-7289 or email sps.libarts@nyu.edu.

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