Douglas Latchford, Antiquities Trafficking, New York 2023

Grimy Times Exposes: Douglas Latchford's Antiquities Trafficking Empire

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, announced today that the United States had filed and settled a civil forfeiture action against $12 million derived from the sale of stolen Southeast Asian antiquities by indicted antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford.

The Settlement with the daughter of the late Douglas Latchford, who died in 2020, resolves claims that Latchford transferred the proceeds from the sale of stolen antiquities to bank accounts in the Bailiwick of Jersey. As part of the Settlement, Latchford's daughter has also agreed to the forfeiture of a 7th Century bronze statue depicting the four-armed goddess Durga, which is alleged to have been stolen from Vietnam in 2008 and which Latchford allegedly purchased using tainted funds.

According to the allegations in the Complaint and the Stipulation filed in Manhattan federal court on June 22, 2023: Douglas Latchford was indicted in the Southern District of New York with wire fraud conspiracy and other crimes related to a multi-year scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market, primarily by creating false provenance documents and falsifying invoices and shipping documents, including misrepresenting the country of origin of artworks.

Between 2003 and 2020, Latchford maintained bank accounts in New York, the United Kingdom, and the Bailiwick of Jersey. During those years, Latchford received more than $12 million in his New York and U.K. accounts as payment for his sale of stolen and smuggled Southeast Asian antiquities to buyers and dealers in the United States. As part of those sales, Latchford provided false provenance and/or made false statements on shipping records and importation records when those antiquities were imported into the United States. Latchford then transferred at least $12 million in illegally derived proceeds to his bank accounts in Jersey.

In 2008 and 2009, Latchford used funds derived from the sale of stolen and smuggled antiquities to purchase a 7th Century bronze statue depicting the four-armed goddess Durga. According to bank and email records, including correspondence with his bankers, Latchford traveled to Vietnam in November 2008 to purchase a piece of art and instructed his bankers to send around $2 million to the bank account of a person with a Vietnamese email address. In January 2009, Latchford emailed a dealer a photograph of the Durga lying on its back, covered in what appears to be dirt and minerals indicative of recent excavation.

The proposed settlement is subject to review by a district judge in the Southern District of New York. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, 'For years, Douglas Latchford made millions from selling looted antiquities in the U.S. art market, stashing his ill-gotten gains offshore. This historic forfeiture action and settlement shows that we will be relentless in following the money wherever it leads to fight the illicit trade in cultural patrimony.' HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said, 'The late Douglas Latchford was a prolific dealer of stolen antiquities. His complicity in numerous illicit transactions over several decades garnered him millions of dollars in payments from buyers and dealers in the United States, of which as part of this agreement, $12 million will be rightfully forfeited by his estate. HSI New York celebrates the pending repatriation of any outstanding artifacts from Latchford's illegally obtained collection to their rightful owners and reaffirms our commitment to disrupting the illicit trafficking of cultural property, art, and antiquities.'

Defendant Name: Douglas Latchford

Exact Criminal Charges: Wire fraud conspiracy and other crimes related to a multi-year scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities

City and State: New York

Exact Date: 2019

Sentence or Outcome: $12 million settlement in civil forfeiture action against estate

Dollar Amounts: $12 million

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-12-million-settlement-civil-forfeiture-action-against-estate