A prominent art dealer has been charged in US federal court on charges related to “trafficking in stolen and looted Cambodian antiquities.”
In an indictment unsealed this week, Douglas Latchford is accused of carrying out a long-running “fraudulent scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market, including to dealers and buyers in the United States.” Latchford, 88, is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Southeast Asian art, and has provided major museums, dealers, and auction houses with Cambodian antiquities.
Latchford, a dual citizen of Thailand and the UK, also goes by the Thai name Pakpong Kriangsak. Prosecutors say he persistently concealed the fact that the artifacts were “the product of looting, unauthorized excavation, and illicit smuggling” by creating false provenance histories, invoices, and shipping documents for the pieces.
In full: https://qz.com/1758283/international-art-expert-charged-with-selling-looted-cambodian-antiquities/
