The FBI is investigating the sale to US buyers of what it suspects are hundreds of ancient treasures from the British Museum in London. According to a BBC report, the US federal police agency also provided assistance with the return of 268 itemswhich the London museum claims is its property, sold to a Washington collector.
The British Museum announced last year that ancient gems, jewelry and other items of his collection were missing, stolen or damaged. One buyer, living in New Orleans, told the BBC that an FBI agent sent him an email asking for information on two valuable ancient artifacts he had purchased on eBay. The FBI agent said he was assisting the Metropolitan Police in theinvestigation into missing or stolen objects from the British Museum. The buyer said he no longer has possession of either gem and does not believe they have been traced by authorities. The FBI did not ask him for further information.
The British Museum says that of the 1,500 objects it estimates are stolen or missing, 626 have so far been recovered and a further 100 have been found but not yet returned to museum storage. Most of the items the museum believes were stolen were not cataloged and it is still trying to find ways to prove they came from its collection. In some cases, collectors agree to donate objects to the museum for staff to evaluate. A senior curator, Peter Higgs, is accused by the management of the British Museum of stealing, damaging, melting down and selling ancient artefacts. Higgs has denied the allegations. The museum, however, said it believes Dr Higgs pocketed around £100,000 in total.
According to court documents in a civil lawsuit the museum is filing against its former curator Higgs, he is believed to have stole items for at least a decade, selling mostly unregistered items from the museum’s warehouses. The museum believes Higgs, who has been fired, sold items to at least 45 buyers on eBay.
Three buyers said the seller “sultan1966” introduced himself as “Paul Higgins” or “Pau” on eBay or via email with them. Also according to court documents, the museum says Higgs admitted that the “sultan1966” account belonged to him. New Orleans buyer Tonio Birbiglia told the BBC he had purchased two items from “sultan1966”. The British Museum has not yet examined these objects, so it is yet to establish whether they belong to its collection: one was an amethyst gem depicting a Cupid – the Roman god of love – riding a dolphin, which Birbiglia bought for £42 in May 2016; the other was an orange gem depicting a scarab beetle, purchased for £170. Birbiglia sent payment for this item to a PayPal account, registered to Higgs’ personal email address.
Birbiglia, who was working for an antiquities gallery at the time, told the BBC he was “completely shocked” when the FBI contacted him and said he had probably bought the gems to resell.