NEW YORK (January 18, 2022)—Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Fareed Yasseen today accepted five historic stolen artifacts for repatriation to Iraq after they had been looted over the past 30 years.
At a ceremony also featuring Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Erik Rosenblatt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, two items seized from Michael Steinhardt and three others from ongoing investigations were handed over. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the office of the Manhattan District Attorney was responsible for the efforts to recover the stolen antiquities, which collectively are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.