Why Antiquities Trafficking Belongs on the Global Anti-Corruption Agenda
January 10, 2026
Guest contribution from Ian Tennant from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)
As demonstrated by dedicated events in recent fora, such as the 11th Conference of States Parties to the UNCAC in Doha, there is a growing momentum to address the illicit trade in art and antiquities—but as our work at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) shows, this criminal market remains widely misunderstood.
From the available research and analysis, it is clear that antiquities trafficking is uniquely vulnerable to abuse and criminality because both legal and illegal objects often move through the same channels in a “grey market,” where anonymity, secrecy, and opaque ownership histories are the norm. For authorities and genuine enthusiasts and dealers to differentiate between legal, illegal, fake, and genuine artefacts is extremely challenging, particularly in an international art market that has not historically encouraged external scrutiny or transparency.
These conditions create fertile ground for corruption. Across regions affected by insecurity or conflict, looting increases as economic hardship grows and state authority weakens. From the circulation of artefacts looted by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria through transnational criminal networks, to large-scale trafficking in parts of Europe, antiquities crime consistently intersects with corruption and broader organized crime ecosystems.
High value, secrecy, and weak oversight make cultural objects attractive for laundering profits and financing criminal activity. GI-TOC research has documented the scale of antiquities trafficking in North Macedonia, where an estimated 100,000 cultural objects are believed to have been illicitly removed from the country. These losses point to how organized criminal networks exploit weak oversight, corruption, and established smuggling routes to move cultural objects into international markets—often alongside other illicit goods.
Encouragingly, this issue is gaining greater international attention. Recent discussions surrounding both UNCAC and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the UNTOC) reflect growing recognition that trafficking in cultural property is not only a threat to heritage, but also to security, governance, and prosperity.
Public awareness and genuine international cooperation are essential to disrupt a trade that causes irreversible harm and thrives on corruption. Combating this crime requires a holistic, multi-sectoral response—one that strengthens local resilience while addressing the transnational drivers, enablers, and markets that sustain demand.
Context: Advancing Action on Cultural Racketeering through UNCAC
On the margins of the world’s leading anti-corruption forum, governments and experts are increasingly working together to confront cultural racketeering as a corruption-enabled crime.
During the 11th Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), convened in Doha, representatives from the Antiquities Coalition, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Italian Republic, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime convened a panel to examine how UNCAC’s existing tools can be more consistently and effectively applied to crimes involving looted and trafficked cultural heritage.
These discussions reflect a growing international consensus: protecting cultural heritage requires coordinated anti-corruption action—and UNCAC offers a critical framework to do so, alongside the broad range of international cooperation tools at our disposal. To help drive action, more granular analysis and policy engagement is needed.