May 27th 2024.
According to recent reports, the FBI has joined forces with the Metropolitan Police to aid in the investigation of a potential theft at the British Museum. It is believed that a large number of valuable artifacts from the museum have been sold to buyers in the United States. This has sparked an investigation by the FBI into the American buyers of these items, which were allegedly sold by a Washington D.C. "collector."
This development comes after an incident last year in which a British Museum employee was fired for the disappearance, theft, and damage of numerous items. These missing or damaged items include gold, jewelry, and semi-precious stones and have been dated back as far as the 15th century BC. Shockingly, some of these pieces have now been traced to the United States. The FBI has reported that they are working closely with the Metropolitan Police and have already recovered 626 of the estimated 1,500 missing items.
In an interview with the BBC, one buyer revealed that he had been contacted by an FBI agent regarding two pieces he had purchased on eBay. The agent was seeking information on these items as part of their investigation. The alleged thief, Peter Higgs, who was a senior curator at the British Museum, has been accused of stealing, damaging, melting down, and selling these ancient artifacts, although he maintains his innocence.
The FBI has also discovered that three buyers on eBay had made purchases from a seller under the username "sultan1966," who also went by "Paul Higgins" or simply "Paul." Court documents have revealed that Dr. Higgs has admitted to owning the eBay account "sultan1966." These revelations have caused quite a stir, leading to the resignation of the British Museum's director, Hartwig Fischer, last August.
In addition to the FBI, the matter is also being investigated by the economic crime command of the Metropolitan Police, although no arrests have been made thus far. It has been alleged that the British Museum was first alerted to the potential thefts in 2020 by an expert in antiquities who had spotted some of the missing objects for sale on eBay.
In a statement, Mr. Fischer expressed his regret for the museum's inadequate response to the warnings in 2021 and the subsequent investigation. He stated, "It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged." The British Museum continues to work closely with the authorities in hopes of recovering all of the missing items, which are thought to be small in size and have been stolen over a period of several years. For the latest updates on this story and other news from London, be sure to visit The Agency's London news hub.
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