Billionaire investment fund and philanthropist Michael Steinhardt has handed over $70 million (just under R$400 million) in stolen antiquities and agreed to a permanent ban — the first of its kind — on antiques purchases to solve a criminal investigation, the attorney general said. Manhattan District, Cy Vance, on Monday.
Vance said his investigation, which began in February 2017, found “compelling evidence” that 180 artifacts were stolen from 11 countries, at least 171 of which passed through dealers before Steinhardt bought them.
“For decades, Michael Steinhart has demonstrated a voracious appetite for looted artifacts without worrying about the legality of his actions, the legality of the pieces bought and sold, or the agonizing cultural damage he has caused worldwide,” Vance said in a statement.
A lawyer for Steinhardt did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Vance’s office said the deal represented “the completion of the grand jury investigation into the Steinhardt case.”
Steinhardt, who turned 81 on Tuesday, built his fortune by running the Steinhardt Partners Fund, which closed in 1995 to focus on Jewish charitable causes. His net worth is 1.2 billion US dollars (about 6.8 billion Brazilian reals), according to Forbes magazine.
Vance said the antiquities would be returned to their rightful owners in Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. Legal authorities in those countries assisted in the investigation.
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