Egypt receives 48 smuggled artefacts returned by US 

The Egyptian government has welcomed the return of 48 smuggled artefacts with the help of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The artefacts, including jewellery, statues, sculptures, amulets, funerary objects, and ancient inscriptions, were formally returned to Egypt during a ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday.

With the assistance of the US State Department, archaeologists, and the FBI’s legal attaché in Cairo, the artefacts were verified as belonging to Egypt. They are believed to be significant components of the country’s cultural heritage and date back to the Pharaonic, Roman, and Coptic eras.

“These artifacts that have been returned represent an essential part of Egypt’s history, cultural heritage, and people, and we are extremely happy and proud to bring them home,” Hossam Ali, the Egyptian consul general in Los Angeles, was quoted as saying by Egypt Independent.

According to Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, the suspected smuggler behind the looted artefacts is already dead.

However, the investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to identify potential accomplices and locate other artefacts that may have been illegally obtained.

The FBI said the illegal trafficking of cultural property compromises the integrity of the US art and antiquities market and provides funding to international criminal and terrorist groups.

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US and Egypt’s 2016 cultural property agreement

The United States and Egypt signed an agreement on cultural property in 2016.

Under the agreement, the US is permitted to restrict the import of specific types of Egyptian archaeological and ethnological artefacts.

It also provides a framework for locating, confiscating, and returning cultural property that has been trafficked illegally.

Moreover, the agreement promotes the lawful exchange of artefacts for scientific, cultural, and educational purposes, according to officials.

“Egypt looks forward to further constructive and robust bilateral cooperation in the cultural field and beyond,” Ali said during the ceremony.

More than 5,000 archaeological and cultural artefacts have been returned to Egypt by the US since 2016, the FBI said.

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