How cultural property crime continued unabated during the pandemic

THE pandemic has not spared the art world. However, an Interpol report reveals that illegal activities involving cultural property flourished in 2020. Indeed, the closure of museums and restrictions on international travel did not slow cultural property crime.

The report is based on information on cultural property crimes, arrests and trafficking routes provided by 72 member countries of the international organisation facilitating police cooperation.

It transpires that 854,742 items of cultural property were seized last year, including coins, medals, paintings, sculptures and antique books. Most of these objects were intercepted in Europe, as was also the case the previous year.

Crime committed in museums has declined in all regions of the world, except the Americas. Extended museum closures and other pandemic-related restrictions evidently limited the opportunities for criminals looking to steal art from public collections.

But that hasn't prevented some high-profile break-ins. Burglars stole three Old Master paintings from the Christ Church Picture Gallery at Oxford University in March last year.

A few days later, a Van Gogh painting, 'The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring', was stolen from the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands – a robbery that occurred 167 years to the day after the birth of the Dutch painter.

Illicit excavations on the rise

While thefts from museums have decreased overall, illicit excavations of archaeological artefacts have increased sharply. The phenomenon is particularly marked in Africa (+32%), in the Americas (187%) and, especially, in Asia and the South Pacific (3,812%).

A large part of the artefacts looted during illicit excavations are sold on the Internet, and especially on Facebook. For years, researchers from the Athar Project (Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research) have been sounding the alarm about the proliferation of private groups selling stolen or excavated antiquities.

In September 2020, the Athar Project counted 120 Facebook groups whose members were contributing to the trafficking of cultural property.

"The covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on criminals involved in the illicit traffic of cultural property but did not in any way diminish the demand for these items or the occurrence of such crimes," said Corrado Catesi, coordinator of Interpol's Works of Art unit.

"As countries implemented travel restrictions and other restrictive measures, criminals were forced to find other ways to steal, illegally excavate and smuggle cultural property." – ETX Daily Up, October 27, 2021