The FBI has joined the Metropolitan Police of Britain in the investigation of the sale of hundreds of artifacts believed to have been stolen from the British Museum in an alleged “inside job.” The US crime agency is aiding the search for approximately 1,500 items reportedly stolen by a former senior curator and sold on eBay. One of the stolen artifacts, an amethyst gem depicting the Roman god Cupid, was sold on eBay by “sultan1966,” a username allegedly linked to Dr. Peter Higgs, who was dismissed from the museum last year.
‘Paul Higgins’: An Alias of Disrepute
While no arrests or charges have been made, the British Museum is pursuing a civil case against Higgs, claiming he stole items from its storerooms and sold them online for over a decade. Higgs is defending himself against these claims. According to court documents, Higgs admitted that the eBay account “sultan1966” belonged to him.
Tonio Birbiglia, an antiquities dealer from New Orleans, told the BBC that he purchased the amethyst gem from sultan1966 in May 2016 for £42 ($55) along with an orange scarab beetle for £170 ($216). Birbiglia said the seller identified himself as “Paul Higgins” and used Higgs’s personal email address. He expressed shock when contacted by the FBI and mentioned he could not recall the purchases as he likely bought the gems to resell. When he asked for more information to help trace the items, he received no response.
The FBI is now assisting with the investigation of 268 items sold in the Washington DC area by the same seller. The museum has already recovered 626 missing items and identified another 100 that have been located but not yet returned. The museum acknowledged the difficulty in recovering all items, as many were uncatalogued, and some are fragments of larger objects.
Hellbound and Down 