Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of three antiquities to the people of Indonesia and 28 antiquities to the people of Türkiye. The objects were recovered pursuant to criminal investigations into multiple antiquities trafficking networks, including those run by alleged trafficker Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Robin Symes.

“I am grateful to the hard work of our prosecutors and investigators to track down these objects and return them to where they belong. It speaks to the extraordinary collaboration and partnership our Office has with countries all across the world who are seeking to reclaim their stolen cultural heritage,” said District Attorney Bragg.

“My highest appreciation to New York County District Attorney’s Office and their team for their dedication and hard work in upholding justice and law, so that these cultural objects can be returned to its rightful owner, the Indonesia people,” said Winanto Adi, Consul General of Indonesia.

“Each case in which Türkiye works together with the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and with Homeland Security Investigations stands as a testament to the importance of international cooperation in protecting cultural heritage through the pursuit of justice. Türkiye deeply appreciates all the hard work involved and remains committed to continuing this collaboration with the same dedication,” said Ambassador Muhittin Ahmet Yazal, Consul General of Türkiye.

Some of the pieces being returned to Indonesia include:

• A War Shield from the Asmat people of South Papua, carved from a single mangrove plank, these shields are named after an ancestor important to the shield’s owner. This shield is carved in the form of a flying fox, one of the world’s largest bat species and an important symbol connected to head-hunting in Asmat culture.
• A Klebit Bok (shield) was made by the Kayan Dayak people of central Borneo. It is intricately painted in the distinctive red and black of Kayan shields.

The 28 pieces being returned Türkiye include:

• A Silver Oinochoe and Silver Phiale, which are part of the “Lydian Hoard,” a group of over 350 gold and silver objects dating to the 6^th century BCE. They were looted from western Türkiye in the 1960s. The Silver Oinochoe and Silver Phiale’s small size and precious material suggest that they were intended for ritual (rather than daily) use. These two objects were allegedly laundered by Frieda Tchakos, and sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1980, where they remained until recovered by the ATU in 2025.
• A bronze belt dating to approximately 700 BCE from the Urartian culture of eastern Türkiye, particularly the region surrounding Lake Van. Belts of this type are typically found in graves. The first documented appearance of this Belt was in the possession of Robin Symes in 1989. The belt was then loaned to a museum by a private collector in 1990, until it was seized by the ATU in 2025.
• 3 Anatolian idols of different types, including a Kilia type, often referred to as “stargazers” due to their upward-tilted heads and dating to more than 6,000 years ago. These abstract figures are among the earliest known representations of the human form in the Mediterranean. Their distinctive aesthetic and historical significance have made them extremely valuable on the art market, fueling decades of looting in Türkiye.

For almost 15 years, the District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU), along with law-enforcement partners, have investigated Kapoor and his alleged co-conspirators for the alleged illegal looting, exportation, and sale of artifacts from numerous countries in South and Southeast Asia. The D.A.’s Office obtained an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012 and his extradition from India is pending. [1] To date, the investigation has led to the convictions of five individuals and the pending extradition of five others.

Robin Symes was a London-based trafficker who passed away in 2023. Over the course of the investigation into Symes, the ATU has seized 139 objects, valued at more than $60 million, that had been previously trafficked by Symes into and through New York County.

During District Attorney Bragg’s tenure, the ATU has recovered more than 2,360 antiquities stolen from 43 countries, valued at more than $255 million. Since its creation, the ATU has convicted 17 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, recovered more than 6,050 antiquities valued at more than $475 million, and has returned almost 5,650 of them so far to 30 countries.

The investigations were conducted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Senior Trial Counsel, and Assistant District Attorneys Christine DiDomenico, James Edward-Lebair, and Taylor Holland; Investigative Analysts Charlotte Looram and Michael Chapin; District Attorney Investigator John Paul Labbat; and Special Agents Robert Mancene and Robert Fromkin of Homeland Security Investigations.

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[1] Any charges referenced herein that have not already resulted in convictions are merely allegations, and any individuals not convicted are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.