At the handover ceremony of the 7th-century statue. (Photo: VNA) The four-armed goddess Durga statue, about 2m inlength and 250kg in weight, was recognised by UNESCO as world heritage, and wasstolen from the My Son Sanctuary in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam in2008.
The handover is attributable to the longinvestigation by the US Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) in its effortsagainst antiquities trafficking, as well as the coordination between the agencyand London police over the past time.
The ceremony saw the participation ofVietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long and Minister Counsellor ToMinh Thu, along with US and British officials.
The four-armed goddess Durga statue measures about 2m in length and 250kg in weight. (Photo: justice.gov) In 2019, Latchford was indicted with wire fraudconspiracy and other crimes related to a multi-year scheme to sell lootedCambodian antiquities on the international art market, primarily by creating falseprovenance documents and falsifying invoices and shipping documents, includingmisrepresenting the country of origin of artworks.
Between 2003 and 2020, Latchford maintained bankaccounts in New York, the UK, and the Bailiwick of Jersey. During those years, Latchford received morethan 12 million USD in his New York and UK accounts as payment for his sale ofstolen and smuggled Southeast Asian antiquities to buyers and dealers in theUS.
Latchford then transferred at least 12 million USDin illegally derived proceeds to his bank accounts in Jersey.
In 2008 and 2009, Latchford used funds derived fromthe sale of stolen and smuggled antiquities to purchase the 7th century bronzestatue depicting the four-armed goddess Durga.
After his passing away, Latchford’s daughterconsented to forfeiture of the 12 million USD and the Durga.
According to bank and email records, includingcorrespondence with his bankers, Latchford traveled to Vietnam in November 2008to purchase a piece of art and instructed his bankers to send around 2 millionUSD to the bank account of a person with a Vietnamese email address.
In January 2009, Latchford emailed a dealer aphotograph of the Durga lying on its back, covered in what appears tobe dirt and minerals indicative of recent excavation. He identified UNESCO-recognised My Son as thelocation where the Durga was recovered.
After receiving information from the VietnameseEmbassy in the US, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK contacted and had workingsessions with British competent agencies over the incident.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Long, on behalf of the Vietnamesegovernment, thanked HIS and London police for their effective coordination.
At the handover ceremony. (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnamese Embassy in the UK will continue itsclose coordination with competent agencies at home, and relevant companies tobring the statue home safely, he said./.
VNA
