This document summarizes Karl-Heinz Kind's presentation on international routes of illicit trafficking in cultural property. It provides numerous examples of thefts and recoveries of artifacts from various countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. The thefts often involved items stolen from archaeological sites, museums, churches, or private residences. The recoveries sometimes occurred years later through investigations, auctions, dealers, or databases. The presentation concludes with recommendations to upgrade legislation, create specialized law enforcement units, establish expert networks, allocate resources, systematically collect theft data, and conduct regular database and internet checks.

1. Regional Training Workshop on the Fight against
Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property in South-East
Europe
International Routes of illicit Trafficking in Art Objects
Presented by
Karl-Heinz Kind
Coordinator Works of Art Unit
Interpol General Secretariat
Lyons, France
INTERPOL For official use only

2. Countries of theft
Countries of transit
Countries of destination
INTERPOL For official use only

3. Thefts from churches in region Samarina and
Grevena, Greece, between September and November
2009
Recoveries from auction house in Amsterdam, NL
and gallery in London, UK in March 2011
INTERPOL For official use only

4. Theft of 2 dinosaur eggs from palaeontological site in
Romania in 2005
Recovery in Italy in 2009 following control of offers over
internet
INTERPOL For official use only

5. Theft of a painting by Caravaggio in Odessa, Ukraine
in July 2008
Recovery in Berlin, Germany in June 2010 in a joint operation
Caravaggio,
« The taking of
Christ »
or
« The kiss of
Judas »
INTERPOL For official use only

6. Theft from ancient City of Denizli, Turkey in May 2005
Recovery through art dealer in Basel, Switzerland in January
2007
Identification through DVD
INTERPOL « Stolen Works of Art »
INTERPOL For official use only

7. Marble torso of Apollon
February 1991: Stolen from
archaeological collections
storehouse on island of Crete
March 2007: Checked by
private company on behalf of
Swiss art dealer
IPSG informed NCB Athens
and Bern
July 2007: Repatriation to
Greece
INTERPOL For official use only

8. Theft of a marble statue
of a bearded man
(Dyonisos) from Agora
ruins in Izmir, Turkey in
February 2004
Identification by Munich
based auction house and
return in June 2004
INTERPOL For official use only

9. Theft of 15 solid gold bracelets
from archaeological sites in the
Orastie mountains, Romania
in 2000 and 2001
INTERPOL For official use only

10. 5 Romanian offenders identified
Trafficking to
- Serbia and Montenegro
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Belgium
- France
- USA
5 bracelets seized in the USA and France
INTERPOL For official use only

11. INTERPOL For official use only

12. Theft of a Seizure following
painting in Pilar, check at Schipol
Argentina in airport Amsterdam in
March 2003 June 2003
Charles Cottet
« Seamen in
Britanny »
INTERPOL For official use only

13. Theft from Kabul Museum, Afghanistan, in 1994
Information supply from the UNESCO (670 items) in 2003
Proposal for sale in public auction in Munich, June 2010
INTERPOL For official use only

14. Returned to the Ambassador of Afganistan in Germany on 15 September 2011
INTERPOL For official use only

15. Thefts from a temple in prov. of Rajastan, India and
recovery in New York in April 2010
Stolen in
Stolen in April 2009
September 2009
INTERPOL For official use only

16. 2008:
Seizure of 3 cuneiform tablets in Peru
and assistance provided by Spanish
expert (UNESCO list)
Items returned to Iraq
INTERPOL For official use only

17. August 2006: Theft of 19 paintings and prints
in Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Fiscal fraud and
money laundering -
October 2007: E-mail request to IPSG by a US
art gallery concerning painting by
Jean-Michel Basquiat « Hannibal »
November 2007: Seizure of painting by Basquiat
(value: US$ 8 million)
INTERPOL For official use only

18. INTERPOL For official use only

19. January 2008:
Seizure of painting by
Fernand Léger
« Les Papillons »
in London
(value: 600 000 £ Sterling)
February 2008:
On-going investigation
in the USA
INTERPOL For official use only

20. Seizure in 2008
in Geneva,
Switzerland
coming from
Moscow,
Russia
Serge Poliakoff
« Composition
abstraite »
INTERPOL For official use only

21. September 2010, New York, USA:
Recovery of 2 paintings
Roy Lichtenstein « Modern Joachim Torres Garcia
painting with yellow « Figures in 4 pictures »
interwaves » INTERPOL For official use only

22. Theft from an art fair in Namur, Belgium in November 2009
Recovery in April 2011 in Strasbourg area, France
Thief had stolen over 150 items from museums in several European
countries
Jan
Brueghel
« Landscape
with
peasants »
INTERPOL For official use only

23. Theft of 4 paintings from lawyer’s office in Rome, Italy in1974
Offered for sale of 1 painting in auction in the UK in
November 2008
Recovery in London in March 2011
INTERPOL For official use only

24. Theft of 12 paintings from private residence in Baia Mare, Romania,
on 07/10/2006
Recovered in Hungary, May 2007 - Sandor ZIFFER « Alley in the park »
INTERPOL For official use only

25. Armed robbery in Zurich in February 2008
Recovered in Serbia in automn 2011 and in avril 2012
Cézanne Degas
Garçon au veste rouge Comte Lepic et ses filles
INTERPOL For official use only

26. Theft of a painting in canton of Zurich, Switzerland
in November 2009
Recovery in Serbia in August 2011
Lucas Cranach
« The crucifixion »
INTERPOL For official use only

27. Theft of 2 Picasso painting in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland in
February 2008
Recovery in Serbia in October 2011
Glass and pitcher
Horse head
INTERPOL For official use only

28. Recovery in Brasov, Romania on 13/14 November 2008
Stolen from private residences in Vienna in September 2008
Matteo di Siena Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller
« Madonna with Child » « The stubborn schoolboy »
INTERPOL For official use only

29. Theft of 16 paintings in
Antwerp, Belgium,
18/07/1999
INTERPOL For official use only

30. Maarten RIJCKAERT
Landscape with burning church
Recovered: Moscow, March 2004
Unknown Flemish artist
Portrait of a nobleman
Recovered: Romania, Sept.
INTERPOL For official use only
2004

31. Aert van der NEER – Costal scene
Recovered: Moscow, December 2004
INTERPOL For official use only

32. Jan
BRUEGEL
Vulcan
in his
workshop
HONDIUS
Recovered:
France,
Landscap
November 2000 e with
dogs and
wild birds
INTERPOL For official use only

33. Van WYCK
Solders near a
river
Unknown
Recovered: Flemish
painter
France
November
2004 Men
drinking at
INTERPOL For official use only an inn

34. CONCLUSIONS
- Upgrade national legislation
- Elaborate risk profiles
- Create specuialized law enforcement units and
ensure regular training
- Establish network of reliable experts
- Allocate adequate resources
INTERPOL For official use only

35. - Ensure systematic data collection on stolen
cultural property
- Transfer stolen art information to the INTERPOL
General Secretariat for data entry
- Conduct regular database checks and internet
monitoring
INTERPOL For official use only

36. Thank you very much for
your attention
Karl-Heinz Kind
kh.kind@interpol.int
INTERPOL For official use only