The statue was seized by Homeland Security Investigations officials at the Port of Los Angeles in May of 2016 as a possibly protected cultural property from Italy, according to the civil forfeiture action filed on April 30.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking the forfeiture of an ancient Roman sculpture apparently destined for Kim Kardashian after officials determined it.
By City News Service
May 5, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking the forfeiture of an ancient Roman sculpture that Kim Kardashian was in the process of acquiring after officials determined it had been illegally smuggled out of Italy, according to court papers obtained this morning.
The marble and limestone statue resembling the lower half of a person draped in fabric was seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in June 2016 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after a company linked to Kardashian attempted to import it using the wrong documentation, the civil forfeiture action alleges.
Kim Kardashian denies any knowledge of illegally exported sculpture
Kim Kardashian denies any knowledge of illegally exported sculpture By Cover Media
Cover Media
Kim Kardashian has denied owning an Ancient Roman sculpture that the U.S. government believes was illegally exported out of Italy.
It was claimed that Kardashian had purchased the limestone statue, Fragment of Myron’s Samian Athena, back in 2016 from the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium.
However, upon its arrival in the United States as part of a 5.5-ton shipment of antiques and furniture in May that year, authorities were alerted to the fact that the artwork, believed to be from the first or second century, might be protected cultural property.
Updated on May 5, 2021 at 10:58 am
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking the forfeiture of an ancient Roman sculpture apparently destined for Kim Kardashian after officials determined it had been illegally smuggled out of Italy, according to court papers obtained Wednesday morning.
The marble and limestone statue resembling the lower half of a person draped in fabric was seized at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in June 2016 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after a company linked to Kardashian attempted to import it using the wrong documentation, the civil forfeiture action alleges.