FBI Los Angeles returns 48 cultural artifacts to Egyptian government

Nearly 50 cultural artifacts were presented to Egyptian governmental representatives in an FBI Los Angeles repatriation ceremony on Friday.

An investigation by the FBI's Art Crime Team determined that all 48 artifacts were illicitly trafficked from Egypt, and that the original suspected trafficker is now dead. Returned property included carved figures, amulets, and tomb equipment, among other items, from the Pharaonic, Roman, and Coptic periods. 

The most recent possessor of the artifacts had contacted the FBI after researching and discovering their questionable entry into the United States. Analysis found no record of the items being lawfully removed from Egypt.

Ambassador Dr. Hossam Eldeen Aly, Consul General of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Los Angeles, thanked the U.S. government. 

"These handed-over artifacts represent an integral part of the history and cultural heritage of Egypt and its people, and we are very glad and honored to bring those home," he said. 

In 2016, the United States and Egypt entered into a cultural property agreement, restricting the U.S. import of certain archeological and ethnological material from Egypt.  

"This agreement creates a framework for cooperation between the two countries to identify, interdict, and return trafficked cultural property, while encouraging legal exchange for cultural, educational, and scientific purposes," the FBI wrote in a news release. 

The FBI's Art Crime Team was created in 2004 in response to an increase in cultural property crimes worldwide. Art Crime Team members are stationed throughout the United States, including two members in Los Angeles.  These agents are uniquely trained in art and cultural property investigations and have recovered more than 20,000 items, collectively worth more than $1 billion.   

In the past ten years, U.S. law enforcement has returned over 5,000 cultural artifacts to Egypt. The FBI noted that in some cases, a prosecution results, while other times the statute of limitations has expired. Regardless, the recovered objects are returned to the citizens of the respective country.

Art and cultural item buyers are encouraged to review the FBI's Stolen Art File (NSAF) as a resource before making a purchase to determine whether the item has been reported stolen to the FBI.