US Returns 657 Stolen Antiquities Worth $14 Million To India

Washington: The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has returned 657 antiquities worth approximately $14 million to India after multiple investigations. The US has said that more work remains to recover other stolen artefacts. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg Jr announced the return on Tuesday. 

When were the artefacts returned? 

The announcement of handover was made by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday, stating that the scale of illicit trade targeting India’s cultural heritage remains significant.

The artefacts were recovered after several investigations into smuggling networks, including those linked to disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor and convicted smuggler Nancy Weiner. 

The artefacts were returned at a ceremony attended by Consul Rajlakshmi Kadam from the Consulate General of India in New York.

What did Alvin Bragg say?

In an official statement on Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the return of these items reveals the vast scale of the smuggling networks that targeted India's cultural heritage. He added that efforts to recover and return the stolen artefacts will continue.

“The scale of the trafficking networks that targeted cultural heritage in India is massive, as demonstrated by the return of more than 600 pieces today," Bragg said in a statement. 

“There is unfortunately more work to be done to return stolen artefacts back to India, and I thank our team for their persistent efforts."

How many artefacts were returned?

A total of 657 ancient artefacts smuggled from India were returned at a ceremony in New York, USA. Their value in the international market is estimated to be $14 million.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office returned the artefacts as part of an ongoing investigation into an international smuggling network linked to antiquities smuggler Subhash Kapoor and convicted smuggler Nancy Weiner.

One of the most important artefacts returned is a bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara, valued at $2 million. This statue, seated on a double-lotus base atop a lion-topped throne, bears an inscription identifying its sculptor as Dronaditya of Sipur.

It was part of a treasure discovered near the Laxman Temple in 1939 and later went to the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur until 1952. It was then stolen and smuggled to the US in 1982, where it remained in a private collection in New York until 2014.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office seized this artifact in 2025. Another notable item is a red sandstone Buddha statue valued at $7.5 million. The statue depicts Buddha with his right hand raised in the abhaya mudra, or gesture of protection; the statue is slightly damaged.

Officials also returned a sandstone statue of a dancing Ganesha, stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2000 by Kapoor's associate, Ranjit Shantu Kanwar.