Stolen, damaged and sold on Ebay: An estimated 2,000 objects were stolen from the British Museum over a long period of time. The suspect refuses to cooperate.
An independent review of thousands of artefacts stolen from the British Museum has been completed. As the museum announced on Tuesday, the investigation concluded that an estimated 2,000 items – mainly uncatalogued gemstones and jewelry from the collections on ancient Greece and Rome – had been stolen or damaged. Of these, only 351 objects have been returned so far.
The processing is difficult. A now-sacked employee suspected of being responsible for the thefts is not cooperating, chairman of the board of trustees George Osborne told the BBC.
“One of the things we need to get to the bottom of is the exact motive of the person we believe is responsible,” Osborne was quoted as saying. However, he neither commented nor cooperated.
Antique dealer discovered items on Ebay
The results of the review remained largely under wraps due to the ongoing police investigation. However, as the BBC reported, it is believed that the suspect made around 100,000 British pounds (approximately 116,000 euros) by selling stolen items.
According to an antique dealer who discovered the museum’s artifacts on the online auction platform eBay and alerted the museum management two years ago, they were offered for an average of 50 pounds (around 58 euros).
When the theft became public in August, museum director Hartwig Fischer, who had headed the British Museum since 2016, resigned with immediate effect. (dpa)