I forgot to publish this post way back when, but it still amazes me. [7/2/2022]
I suppose this is better than prison, even country club prison:
US billionaire Michael Steinhardt has surrendered 180 stolen relics worth an estimated $70 million and agreed to an “unprecedented” lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities, officials in Manhattan have said.
Investigators found that Steinhardt, one of the world’s largest ancient art collectors, was in possession of looted artifacts smuggled out of 11 countries by 12 criminal networks, according to a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s (DA) office on Monday.
“For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. in the statement. [CNN/Style]
He claims he was buying from dealers who claimed these were legal, so the ban suggests the government didn’t really believe him – or that he should have double-checked, as a guy with his resources could easily do so.
