Phnom Penh (FN), Jan. 12 – The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is honored to inform the public that, in support of a Memorandum of Understanding between the US Government and the Royal Government of Cambodia, an invaluable collection of Cambodian cultural artifacts will be returned to Cambodia.

“The US Government, led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO-SDNY") and Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI"), has filed a civil forfeiture action relating to 28 Cambodian cultural artifacts. HSI, in cooperation with USAO SDNY, seized the sculptures from the person,” according to a press release seen by Fresh News on Wednesday.

“The artifacts include a large Ganesha believed to be from Prasat Bak temple at Koh Ker. According to witnesses, this statue was removed about 2 decades ago. In 2020, it was listed by The Antiquities Coalition as one of the top 10 most wanted looted statues in the world.”

Read in full below.
=FRESH NEWS