The Antiquities Coalition

06/10/2026

TODAY, join the Antiquities Coalition and New America for an insider look at 'The Man Who Stole the Gods.'

Author Matthew Campbell, AC Executive Director Tess Davis, and CNN's Peter Bergen will expose the extraordinary story behind one of the largest antiquities trafficking networks in modern history.

Panelists will reveal how priceless Khmer treasures were stolen from ancient temples and trafficked through a global web of smugglers, collectors, and major museums—and the ongoing fight to reclaim a nation’s heritage.

📍 In-person + Online
🕛 June 10 | 12 PM EDT

Register here: https://www.newamerica.org/events/the-man-who-stole-the-gods/

06/10/2026

A major victory against in Southeast Asia and the Pacific:

Matt Bogdanos and his Antiquities Trafficking Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced the return of 20 cultural objects, collectively valued at more than $100,000, to the people of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and New Zealand.

Each piece of stolen cultural property had been laundered through museum donations by indicted antiquities trafficker Subhash Kapoor.

The regional scope of this return marks a major victory in reuniting communities with their lost heritage. But it also spotlights a widespread culture of, at best, negligence, and at worst willing complicity among American museums.

🔗Read the PR:

“I am thrilled that we are able to make these historic returns,” said District Attorney Bragg. “These incredible objects have been in New York illegally for far too long, and I commend our team for their work on this sprawling investigation.”

06/09/2026

One of our "Ten Most Wanted" antiquities has finally come home after half a century.

💡The recovery of a stolen Kolomoki Mounds artifact is a rare victory—but it also highlights a sobering reality: most of the world's looted cultural treasures are still missing.

The Kolomoki vessel is just one of the Antiquities Coalition's "Ten Most Wanted" antiquities. Many others remain unaccounted for, their whereabouts unknown, and their communities still waiting for their return.

Explore the full list of missing cultural treasures—and learn how you can help bring them home:
→ https://ow.ly/PHXr50Z7C5V

Learn how the anonymous return of this 1,500-year-old Native American artifact has revived a cold case from a 1974 heist.
→ https://ow.ly/Ezmr50Z7C5U

Anonymous Return of 1,500-Year-Old Native American Artifact Revives Cold Case from 1974 Heist Washington, DC, 12 May 2026—The Antiquities Coalition’s “Ten Most Wanted” List has reached a third milestone. An […]

06/07/2026

Conflict continues to threaten in the Middle East.

Last week, UNESCO issued a statement sounding the alarm about known strike zones near cultural sites in Lebanon, including Chama’ Citadel and Beaufort Castle.

→UNESCO’s statement: https://ow.ly/PJ3v50Z7CpH

Both sites are extended enhanced protection under the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

This agreement establishes clear legal responsibilities to:
🔸Refrain from targeting cultural property
🔸Avoid using cultural sites for military purposes
🔸Protect and respect cultural heritage in both the planning and conduct of military operations
🔸Maintain access to and documentation of threatened sites

→ All obligations stated in the 1954 Hague Convention: https://ow.ly/aNsV50Z7CiK

Want to dive deeper? Read the AC Policy Brief: "How to protect outstanding cultural heritage from the ravages of war": https://ow.ly/s07Y50Z7Cl1

By Seán Fobbe. Unrivaled in its potency yet often overlooked by policymakers, the system of Enhanced Protection under the 1999 Second Protocol stands ready to effectively protect cultural property in wartime.

06/06/2026

How did Douglas Latchford become one of the most prolific traffickers of blood antiquities in modern history?

In a gripping excerpt from his new book, 'The Man Who Stole the Gods'—out this week—Matthew Campbell unravels the story of "Dynamite Doug's" plunder of Cambodia's cultural heritage, and the fight to bring it home.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-cambodia-man-who-stole-the-gods/

📅 Mark Your Calendar: June 10 | 12 PM ET

Join author Matthew Campbell, AC Executive Director Tess Davis, and CNN's Peter Bergen for a discussion of 'The Man Who Stole the Gods' and the global fight against .

Register for in-person/online: https://www.newamerica.org/events/the-man-who-stole-the-gods/

How investigators tracked down a former child soldier whose heists drove a worldwide art theft network.

05/27/2026

From the Killing Fields of to the galleries of New York’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 'The Man Who Stole the Gods' exposes the extraordinary story behind one of the largest antiquities trafficking networks in modern history.

On June 10, the Antiquities Coalition's Tess Davis will join New America for a conversation with author Matthew Campbell and Peter Bergen to examine the notorious Douglas Latchford, AKA “Dynamite Doug.”

This discussion will explore how priceless Khmer treasures were stolen from ancient temples and trafficked through a global web of smugglers, collectors, and major museums—and the ongoing fight to reclaim a nation’s heritage.

📍 In-person + virtual
🕛 June 10 | 12 PM EDT

Register here: https://www.newamerica.org/events/the-man-who-stole-the-gods/

05/26/2026

NEW must-read from The Atlantic—“How did $65 million of allegedly stolen antiquities wind up in two of the world’s greatest museums?”

Tracing the journeys of two Egyptian treasures—a gold sarcophagus acquired by the Met and a King Tut stele purchased by the Louvre Abu Dhabi—journalist Ariel Sabar uncovers the dark histories behind major museum collections.

From 2013 to 2018, Sabar estimates traffickers had sold the Met and the Louvre Abu Dhabi some $65 million worth of allegedly looted artifacts.

Gap-filled provenances reveal the objects’ paths from looting pits to world-class museums, paved with fraud, money laundering, and forgery.

The fallout is ongoing. Investigators are actively examining other recently acquired objects in major museums.

is not just a feature of the past—it is our present. But does it have to be our future?

→ https://ow.ly/3RHq50Z1Qpg

05/24/2026

In 2022, a Berlin construction crew discovered a WWII-era cellar filled with thousands of lost treasures.

This edition of Unpacking Provenance, a Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art webinar series, will explore the full story of the rediscovered “Fritzsche Gallery.”

📅Mark your calendar for 2 June 2026, 11:00 AM CT.

Register here:

In this webinar, an expert panel discusses Berlin’s recently rediscovered Ernst Fritzsche Gallery collection and its importance to the field of provenance. The Fritzsche Gallery was one of the first art dealers specializing in East Asian art and one of the most popular galleries in Berlin’s Tier...

05/23/2026

🌏Combating Antiquities Trafficking in Southeast Asia

This spring, the Antiquities Coalition hosted two U.S.-ASEAN initiatives to strengthen regional cooperation against cultural property trafficking in Southeast Asia.

On April 8–9, the U.S. Department of State, in partnership with the AC, convened a high-level conference, “Safeguarding Southeast Asia’s Heritage: Strengthening ASEAN–U.S. Cooperation to Combat Cultural Property Trafficking,” in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The conference brought together nine delegations, including senior officials, law enforcement representatives, diplomats, legal experts, and the United States to advance cooperation against the illicit trade.

→ Learn more: https://ow.ly/qA6c50Z1RER

In May, the AC partnered with the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for a "Regional Training to Combat the Illicit Trade in Cultural Property in Southeast Asia," held at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, Philippines.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of State, FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations shared U.S. approaches to investigating and prosecuting cultural property crimes, opening avenues for partnership with ASEAN nations.

🗝️Key Takeaway: Together, these initiatives demonstrate the power of U.S.-ASEAN cooperation to combat cultural property trafficking and linked organized crime.

We are grateful to our partners and participants for their leadership and commitment to safeguarding Southeast Asia’s cultural heritage.

→ Read more on the AC Blog: https://ow.ly/I7L450Z1REQ

Manila, May 13, 2026—The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines convened law enforcement officials and cultural heritage specialists from ASEAN member states for the workshop “Combating Cultural Property Trafficking in Southeast Asia” held from May 5 to 8 at the Ayala Museum in Makati […]

05/20/2026

📅Mark Your Calendar📅

Join the New America and The Antiquities Coalition for a conversation about 'The Man Who Stole the Gods' in-person/online on June 10, 12 PM EST.

AC Executive Director Tess Davis will join Matthew Campbell and Peter Bergen to discuss the god-stealer himself, Douglas Latchford.

You won't want to miss this exclusive look into Latchford’s criminal enterprise—a global conspiracy of greed and collusion involving some of the world’s most powerful museums and collectors.

Register here: https://www.newamerica.org/events/the-man-who-stole-the-gods/