29 valuable antiquities are repatriated from the USA

The antiquities were handed over by the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office to the Minister of Culture Lina Mendonis, to return to the land of their birth, to the place and to the people who created them.

The 29 antiquities that are returning to Greece

Marble and bronze figurines of people and animals, marble, silver, bronze and earthenware vessels, gold and bronze jewelry, part of a fresco, which were in the Shelby White Collection, and an extremely rare gold coin, which refers to the types of March, the day of the assassination of Julius Caesar, seized at an Auction House, are among them.

These antiquities cover a wide chronological range from prehistoric to Roman times.

The items were recovered through the actions of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and specifically Attorney General Alvin Bragg, the New York Homeland Security Agency and Officer Ivan J. Arvelo, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos and his associates. The Directorate of Documentation and Protection of the Ministry of Defense cooperated - also in this case - with the Prosecutor's Office, providing the archaeological documentation, as well as any available information to facilitate its work.

The Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni said during the ceremony: "The great successes that the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office has achieved in recent years in the fight against antiquities led to the repatriation of hundreds of illegally trafficked antiquities to their countries of origin, among them and Greece.

Once again, Matthew Bogdanos and his team worked closely with the Ministry of Culture, whose relevant Directorate provided the archaeological documentation and all available information in order to facilitate the work of the Prosecutor's Office. On behalf of the Hellenic Republic, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart and congratulate everyone for their contribution to the investigation and ultimately to the successful conclusion of this case as well. They managed to hit the illegal international criminal networks, whose action alters the identity of the peoples, as it cuts the archaeological findings from their contexts and turns them from evidence of the history of the peoples, into simple works of art.