Two heritage curators were placed in police custody on Monday July 25 as part of the investigation into trafficking in Egyptian antiquities which were allegedly sold to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, AFP learned from a source familiar with the matter, confirming a
release
information
.
As part of this investigation conducted by the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC), the former boss of the Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez, was indicted last May and placed under judicial supervision.
Hundreds of parts involved
On Monday, Jean-François Charnier and Noémie Daucé were placed in police custody on the premises of the Office.
Former executives of the Agence France Museum (AFM), they are suspected of having favored the sale of Egyptian antiquities to the Louvre Abu Dhabi despite doubts about their fraudulent origin, the same source added.
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The Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Louvre became a civil party in this investigation when the ex-boss of the largest museum in France, known throughout the world, was implicated.
Jean-Luc Martinez, who disputes the facts, was indicted for "
complicity in fraud in an organized gang and laundering by false facilitation of the origin of property from a crime or misdemeanor
".
Born of an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2007 between the United Arab Emirates and France and linked to the Louvre Museum by a cooperation agreement, the Louvre Abu Dhabi depends on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the emirate.
It was inaugurated with great fanfare in November 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron.
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A preliminary investigation, entrusted to the OCBC, was discreetly opened in July 2018 by the National Court in charge of the fight against organized crime of the Paris prosecutor's office.
The investigations were entrusted to an investigating judge in February 2020. At least three other people - an expert in Mediterranean archeology, a merchant and a German-Lebanese gallery owner - are indicted in this case.
This traffic would concern hundreds of parts and would involve several tens of millions of euros, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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