Cambodia’s efforts to reclaim artefacts taken during the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s and smuggled through neighbouring Thailand
received a boost when the daughter of a controversial late British
art collector last month announced she would return more than 100 items worth over US$50 million.
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts on January 29 said Douglas Latchford’s collection constituted “one of the greatest collections of Khmer cultural heritage outside of Cambodia” and their return was “an incredible event for the Cambodian people and the world”.
Latchford, who died last year aged 88, was in 2019 charged by federal prosecutors in the United States or making false documents to transport ancient Khmer valuables around the world.
