Ex-Louvre boss charged over Egyptian art trafficking
By BBC
Published
1 min read
Jean-Luc Martinez was charged with complicity in fraud after being taken in for questioning, judicial sources say.
The former president of France's famous Louvre museum has been charged with conspiring to hide the origins of antiquities suspected to have been removed from Egypt during the Arab Spring uprisings, according to French media.
Jean-Luc Martinez was charged with complicity in fraud after being taken in for questioning, judicial sources say.
Investigators are looking into whether he deliberately overlooked fake certificates of origin for the acquired pieces.
Opened in 2018, the case relates to five works worth a combined $8.5m (£6.8m).
They include a rare pink granite artefact depicting the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Mr Martinez was in charge of the Paris Louvre from 2013 to 2021. According to the Art Newspaper, he has previously denied any wrongdoing in the management of the acquisitions.
