Billionaire Surrenders $70M Worth Of Stolen Artifacts In NYC

NEW YORK CITY — A billionaire surrendered his $70 million cache of ancient artifacts and accepted a lifetime ban on acquiring more, authorities said.

Michael Steinhardt, a hedge fund manager, gave up 180 relics in total as part of a Manhattan District Attorney's probe into illegal international art sales.

All told, investigators found Steinhardt collected antiquities that were looted and illegally smuggled out of 11 countries, trafficked by 12 criminal smuggling networks and lacked verifiable provenance before being sold, authorities said.

“For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance in a statement. “His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection."

Steinhardt had been known as a premier collector of antiquities and had loaned pieces to prestigious museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But investigators turned their eye to Steinhardt after he purchased a bull's head artifact looted during the Lebanese Civil War, authorities said.

Steinhardt's attorneys Andrew J. Levander, of Dechert LLP, and Theodore V. Wells Jr., of Paul, Weiss, said their client is pleased the probe ended without charges and that items wrongfully taken will be returned to their native countries.

"Many of the dealers from whom Mr. Steinhardt bought these items made specific representations as to the dealers’ lawful title to the items, and to their alleged provenance," the attorneys said in a statement. "To the extent these representations were false, Mr. Steinhardt has reserved his rights to seek recompense from the dealers involved."