A 12th-century Bodhisattva statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in May 2021. Its plaque says “Gift of Douglas A.J. Latchford 1989.” Latchford donated Khmer relics to museums around the world. (Salwan Georges/Washington Post )
U.S. authorities announced on Thursday that they have secured a $12 million forfeiture agreement from the daughter of accused antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford, a man federal prosecutors say was a key figure in the decades-long ransacking of ancient Cambodian temples.
Latchford was indicted in 2019 but died before trial, leaving unresolved what might happen to any allegedly stolen artifacts and money in his possession.
The proposed forfeiture settlement, which is subject to review by a district judge in the Southern District of New York, requires Latchford's daughter, Julia Copleston, to forfeit $12 million and a 7th-century bronze statue depicting the four-armed goddess Durga, which is alleged to have been stolen from Vietnam.
According to federal authorities, Latchford received at least $12 million as payment for the sale of stolen and smuggled Southeast Asian antiquities to buyers and dealers in the United States. Latchford provided false documents when those antiquities were imported into the United States.
Some of the ill-gotten assets cited by federal prosecutors were exposed in a 2021 Washington Post profile of Latchford based on the Pandora Papers leak.
"For years, Douglas Latchford made millions from selling looted antiquities in the U.S. art market, stashing his ill-gotten gains offshore," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in announcing the forfeiture agreement. "This historic forfeiture action and settlement shows that we will be relentless in following the money wherever it leads to fight the illicit trade in cultural patrimony."
Some art historians and researchers who have tracked the trade in stolen Asian antiquities praised the settlement.
"What we learned through the Pandora Papers investigation is the magnitude of Latchford's wealth," said Angela Chiu, an art historian. In that light, "the fact that they are going to forfeit $12 million appears modest. But this is a landmark forfeiture. It's a signal that U.S. authorities are sending. They're not just going to seize the artworks. They're going after the ill-gotten gains these smugglers have made."
