In a significant stride toward cultural restitution, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. has announced the return of 20 antiquities valued at over $3 million to Nepal. These artifacts were seized following in-depth criminal investigations into illicit trafficking rings dissected by the District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU). The returned items are part of a larger recovery effort that has, during Bragg's tenure, repatriated over 2,275 artifacts stolen from 39 countries and worth a combined $250 million.
The centerpiece of the returned items is a 15th-century paubha painting, depicting Gaganshim Bharo with his wives, which, as the Manhattan District Attorney's office stated, "was stolen from the Itumbaha Monastery in Kathmandu during a break-in robbery in 1980." Other key artifacts include the black stone Figure of Buddha and a statue likely representing the Hindu goddess Parvati or Lakshmi. Both had similarly illicit journeys across continents before being repatriated. Subhash Kapoor, a key figure in the trafficking network, had an arrest warrant obtained against him by the D.A.'s Office in 2012, with extradition from India pending.
These cultural treasures, as acknowledged by D.A. Bragg in a statement obtained by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, "have fought for the return of these prized antiquities for decades." The investigations leading to their recovery involved both local authorities and international collaborators. A team of dedicated officials, including Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the ATU, and an inter-agency ensemble from Homeland Security Investigations, pursued these artifacts, culminating in their eventual seizure and return to their place of origin.
Special acknowledgment was made by the D.A.'s Office to various individuals and organizations instrumental in the recovery process. Among them are Sanjay Adhikari of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Pragya Ratna Shakya, president of the Keshchandra Mahavihar Conservation Society. The collaboration extended beyond borders, with institutions such as the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art cooperating with the investigation and enabling these pieces of Nepal’s cultural heritage to go home. The District Attorney's efforts unfold within a broader endeavor to address the legacy of looted artifacts and restore them to their rightful communities, a commitment reaffirmed with every repatriation act.
