Two men tried in May for trafficking in ancient Egyptian objects

Two men will be tried in May in Paris for trying to sell ancient Egyptian objects that they held illegally, AFP learned Thursday, December 19 from the Paris prosecutor’s office, confirming information from Actu. They were brought to the public prosecutor’s office on Tuesday where they were summoned to be tried on May 5 for concealment of theft, criminal association, importation of cultural property without authorization and illegal possession of cultural property, added the public prosecutor.

In September, a report put investigators from the Banditry Repression Brigade (BRB) on the trail of this trafficking in ancient Egyptian objects. At the heart of their investigation, a 40-year-old man of Egyptian nationality, who could transit goods from Egypt, without customs controls, thanks to his construction company based in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), explained the prosecution. He had joined forces with a second defendant, aged 41, who was to serve as an intermediary in exchange for a commission.

 

These artifacts did not have the necessary certificates for their exit from Egyptian territory. »

The parquet

The objects had notably been offered to the Artcurial auction house, which declined the offer. “Undercover BRB agents showed up at a meeting to hand over the art objects mentioned, which were thus recovered in a hotel in Montparnasse”reported the prosecution. Among these properties, authenticated by a Louvre curator: “Wooden coffin hands, papyrus scrolls, a statuette of a funerary servant, a statuette of Anubis as a lying dog dating from the New Kingdom, and a figurine of a prisoner dating from the 20th century BC”detailed the public prosecutor. “These artifacts did not have the necessary certificates for their exit from Egyptian territory”according to the prosecution.

Concerning the papyrus scrolls, the value of which varies depending on the era and the story they tell, their fragile state did not allow an exact estimate, said a source close to the investigation.