The FBI is investigating the sale to US buyers of what are suspected to be hundreds of treasures from the British Museum.
The BBC understands the US law enforcement agency has also assisted with the return of 268 items, which the museum claims belong to it, that were sold to a collector in Washington DC.
The British Museum announced last year that ancient gems, jewellery and other items from its collection, were missing, stolen or damaged.
One buyer, based in New Orleans, told the BBC an FBI agent had emailed him asking for information about two pieces he had bought on eBay.
The FBI agent said they were assisting the Metropolitan Police with investigating missing or stolen items from the museum.
The buyer has said he is no longer in possession of either gem and does not believe they have been located by authorities. The FBI did not request further information from him.
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Neither the FBI agent, the museum or British police followed up with him - said Mr Birbiglia - so the two gems have not yet been tracked down by the authorities.
“The whole thing just seemed like they [the FBI] were blowing it off,” he said. “He [the agent] didn't try very hard.”
The BBC understands the FBI has also assisted with the investigation of 268 items in the Washington DC area that were sold by the same seller.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The FBI is investigating the sale to US buyers of what are suspected to be hundreds of treasures from the British Museum.The BBC understands the US law enforcement agency has also assisted with the return of 268 items, which the museum claims belong to it, that were sold to a collector in Washington DC.The British Museum announced last year that ancient gems, jewellery and other items from its collection, were missing, stolen or damaged.One buyer, based in New Orleans, told the BBC an FBI agent had emailed him asking for information about two pieces he had bought on eBay.The FBI agent said they were assisting the Metropolitan Police with investigating missing or stolen items from the museum.The buyer has said he is no longer in possession of either gem and does not believe they have been located by authorities.
Three buyers have said the seller “sultan1966” presented himself as “Paul Higgins” or “Paul” on eBay or over email with them.According to the court documents, the museum says Dr Higgs admitted the account sultan1966 belonged to him.The New Orleans buyer, Tonio Birbiglia, told the BBC he had bought two items from sultan1966.We confirmed this by cross-referencing the eBay records referred to by the FBI with Mr Birbiglia’s receipts.The British Museum has not yet examined these items, so is yet to determine if they were from its collection.One was an amethyst gem depicting a Cupid - the Roman god of love - riding a dolphin, which Mr Birbiglia bought for £42 in May 2016.The other was an orange scarab-beetle gem he bought for £170.
Mr Birbiglia sent his payment for this item to a PayPal account registered under Dr Higgs’ personal email address.
According to the source, the seller used the name of “Paul Higgins” during the transactions.The BBC believes gems have now been handed over to the British Museum, where work to prove ownership is ongoing.
They were on loan to the museum for an exhibition.One gem is thought to be a rare, 2nd Century head of the Greek hero Hercules made from obsidian, a type of volcanic glass.
I don't know if you are interested in things like this, but if you are, we are open to offers,” the seller wrote.The two gems are uncatalogued, but the British Museum believes they come from its collection.
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