Ex-louvre chief charged over role in antiquities trafficking
THE Louvre Museum’s former director has been charged as part of a police investigation into the trafficking of antiquities from the Middle East.
Jean-luc Martinez faces prosecution for fraud following an investigation into objects bought by the Louvre’s Abu Dhabi branch and the New York Metro- politan Museum of Art that has led to a £3million Egyptian sarcophagus being seized by US authorities.
Mr Martinez, who served as director of the Louvre from 2013 to 2021, was questioned by a branch of the French police dealing with arts trafficking and yesterday was charged with “complicity in organised fraud”.
The long-running inquiry relates to objects that authorities suspect were obtained during unrest caused by the Arab Spring revolts.
The investigation, led by the Central Office for the Fight against Traffic in Cultural Goods, was launched in 2018 after the Louvre’s outpost in Abu Dhabi obtained an ancient Egyptian engraved stone and other works, and a golden sarcophagus was sold to the Met in New York.
The 2,100-year-old sarcophagus of ancient Egyptian priest Nedjemankh was seized by the district attorney in New York after it emerged it was stolen from Egypt during civil unrest, and it was later repatriated.
The French dealer who had reportedly brokered the sale, Christophe Kunicki, was charged with fraud along with his partner in 2020, but was later released. French investigators have also alleged that Hamburg-based dealer Roben Dib sold Egyptian works worth £40million via Kunicki to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, including another sarcophagus.
According to the French publication Le Canard Enchaîné, investigators in France have been studying whether former Louvre president Mr Martinez “turned a blind eye” to dubious proofs of provenance for these objects during his tenure.
Lawyers acting for Mr Martinez said he “contests in the strongest way his indictment in this case”, adding that the judiciary would “establish his good faith”.
A statement from the Louvre Abu Dhabi said it could not comment on an ongoing case, but added: “Louvre Abu Dhabi applies a strict international protocol for artworks entering the collection.”