Ancient Treasure Goes Missing From British Museum. Know Why America's FBI Interested In It

While the growing network of online sales is promoting business by globalising themselves, it is also creating fertile ground for illicit trade practices to flourish on. One such case has landed the feds of both the USA and UK in hot waters.  

The USA’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is probing the sale of potentially stolen artefacts from the British Museum to US buyers. As per a BBC report, these ancient jewels and gems went missing from the British Museum last year and were allegedly sold to a collector in Washington DC.  

As per the BBC, the British Museum reports that out of around 1,500 items they think were stolen or are missing, 626 have been recovered, and another 100 have been located but not yet returned. Most of the stolen items hadn't been officially recorded, and the museum is still trying to figure out how to prove they belong to their collection.  

British Treasures’ America Connection  

Multiple solen items are believed to have been sold to buyers in the United States through online business channels, making the sales nearly untraceable. Following this, the FBI is actively investigating these sales, working in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police in the UK.  

Notable among those is a buyer in New Orleans, Tonio Birbiglia, who bought an amethyst gem and an orange scarab-beetle gem on eBay. The collector was later contacted by the FBI regarding these two pieces. However, the seller is identified as "sultan1966.” This ID is further linked to Dr. Peter Higgs, a former British Museum curator.  

Curator Accused Of Theft At British Museum  

The BBC report suggests that Peter Higgs, a senior curator at the British Museum, has been accused of stealing, damaging, and selling artefacts over the past decade. The museum alleges he stole items worth approximately £100,000, mainly from its storerooms, and sold them to at least 45 buyers on eBay. However, Higgs denies these allegations and is defending himself in a civil lawsuit.