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Antiquities trafficking: indictment of the former director of the Louvre, confirms the court of appeal

2023-02-03T13:12:49.887Z


Jean-Luc Martinez is suspected of having ignored alerts on suspicion of false certificates of origin of several Egyptian coins purchased for tens of millions of euros by the Louvre Abu Dhabi.


The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed on Friday the indictment of the former president and director of the Louvre Jean-Luc Martinez and a former executive of Agence France Museums in the investigation into a vast traffic of antiquities, we learned from their lawyers.

"The investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal did not follow the requisitions of the general prosecutor's office which requested the cancellation of the indictment of Mr. Jean-Luc Martinez given the numerous factual and legal inconsistencies which taint the lawsuit”

, lamented his lawyer, Me François Artuphel.

Antiquities trafficking: Jean-Luc Martinez, former president of the Louvre, indicted

"As the public prosecutor's office had argued"

, public prosecutor at the court of appeal,

"this decision is unfounded in law and in fact, and Jean-Luc Martinez - who reaffirms his innocence - has instructed his counsel to appeal in cassation

,” he added.

“We have no doubt that the rest of the procedure will restore this injustice

,” assured Me Artuphel.

Regarding the former executive of Agence France Museums, Jean-François Charnier,

“unfortunately, there was no cancellation of the indictment”

, declared for his part Me Corinne Hershkovitch.

“I regret that the very lucid requisitions of the Advocate General, who had requested the cancellation of the indictment of Mr. Charnier, for lack of serious or concordant indications of guilt, were not followed by the investigating chamber

,” said his lawyer.

The Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC), in charge of investigations, is seeking to determine the responsibilities in the sale of hundreds of antiquities from looting in countries of the Near and Middle East made unstable by the Arab Spring

“Obviously, we are very seriously considering appealing to the Court of Cassation

,” she added, noting that the Court of Appeal had

“confirmed the whole procedure”

.

A source familiar with the matter told AFP that the indictment of a German-Lebanese gallery owner, Roben Dib, suspected of having participated in the falsification of the origin of antique pieces, had also been confirmed.

The public prosecutor's office had requested the rejection of his request for cancellation.

No judicial source was able to confirm these decisions immediately.

Antiquities trafficking: the former president of the Louvre Jean-Luc Martinez in police custody

In this judicial investigation, opened in 2020 after two years of preliminary investigation, at least eight people are indicted.

The Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC), in charge of investigations, is seeking to determine the responsibilities in the sale of hundreds of antiquities from looting in countries of the Near and Middle East made unstable by the Arab Spring.

In particular, several Egyptian pieces purchased for tens of millions of euros by the Louvre Abu Dhabi are concerned.

Mr. Martinez is suspected of having ignored the alerts on the suspicions of false certificates of origin of these objects, which he disputes.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-03

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