Subhash Kapoor Fallout: US Returns Over 1,400 Looted Artefacts
India-West News Desk
NEW YORK, NY – The fallout from Subhash Kapoor’s notorious antiquities trafficking network continues to unfold, with the United States announcing on November 13 the return of over 1,400 looted artifacts worth $10 million to India. Kapoor, a former New York-based antiquities dealer, is serving a 10-year prison sentence in India for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar looting operation. He remains in custody in India, pending extradition to the U.S., where he faces additional charges.
Among the repatriated artifacts are items previously displayed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, including a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer smuggled from central India to London, later sold illegally to a museum patron and donated to the Met.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office attributed the restitution to ongoing investigations into looting networks, including those operated by Kapoor and fellow convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener. William Walker, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York, called the repatriation “another victory” in the years-long effort to dismantle these networks.
The stolen items were formally returned at a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York. This development follows a July agreement between the U.S. and India to combat illegal trade in cultural property and streamline the return of stolen antiquities.
The United States has returned significant collections to India in recent years, including 297 artifacts in September, spanning 4,000 years of history from 2000 BCE to 1900 CE. These pieces, ranging from terracotta, stone, and metal objects to wood and ivory works, reflect India’s diverse cultural heritage.
Since 2016, the U.S. has facilitated the return of 578 cultural artifacts to India, the largest number repatriated by any country. “Restitution of cultural property has become a vital aspect of India-U.S. cultural understanding,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs noted.
