The United States has returned 657 antiquities to India, with a combined value of nearly USD 14 million, marking a major step in efforts to recover stolen cultural property. The announcement was made in New York by Alvin Bragg on Tuesday. Officials said the move reflects continued cooperation between Indian and US authorities, while also acknowledging that many more stolen items are yet to be traced and returned.

The recovered artefacts were linked to multiple trafficking networks that operated over several years. These include networks associated with disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener. Investigations into these networks played a key role in identifying and retrieving the stolen pieces.

The handover took place during an event attended by Consul Rajlakshmi Kadam from the Consulate General of India in New York. Officials highlighted the scale of the operation and the importance of sustained efforts to protect cultural heritage. "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."

India’s Consul General in New York, Binaya Pradhan, also acknowledged the role of US agencies in the recovery process. He appreciated the continued cooperation of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the US Department of Homeland Security, and other law enforcement bodies. He said their "continued vigilance," he said, "made the recovery and return of these culturally significant artefacts possible."

Among the returned items is a bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara, valued at USD 2 million. The figure is seated on an inscribed double-lotus base placed above a throne flanked by lions. The inscription names the craftsman as Dronaditya of Sipur, near present-day Raipur in Chhattisgarh. This statue was part of a large group of bronzes discovered near the Lakshmana Temple in 1939. It later became part of the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur by 1952. The piece was stolen from the museum and smuggled into the United States by 1982. By 2014, it had entered a private collection in New York. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office located and seized the statue in 2025.

Another important artefact is a sandstone statue of a dancing Ganesha. It was looted from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2000 by Ranjeet Kanwar, a co-conspirator linked to Kapoor. The statue was later sold and transported to New York by convicted trafficker Vaman Ghiya and reached gallery owner Doris Wiener. After her death in 2012, Nancy Wiener created false ownership records for the sculpture. She then arranged for it to be sold at Christie's New York. The statue was bought by a private collector at the auction and was surrendered to authorities earlier this year.

The collection also includes a red sandstone statue of Buddha shown standing with his right hand raised in the ‘abhaya mudra’, a gesture symbolising protection. The statue is damaged, with its feet broken below the knees and parts of the halo missing. Officials believe the damage likely occurred during its theft from northern India. This piece, valued at USD 7.5 million, was smuggled into New York by Kapoor. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized it from one of his storage units.

For more than ten years, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has been investigating Kapoor and his associates. The cases involve allegations of illegal looting, export, and sale of artefacts from several countries across South and Southeast Asia. The District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Kapoor in 2012. In November 2019, he and seven others were formally charged for their role in trafficking stolen antiquities.

Kapoor, who was convicted in India in 2022 for his involvement in such activities, is currently awaiting extradition to the United States. Meanwhile, five of his co-defendants have already been convicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The Antiquities Trafficking Unit has made significant progress in recent years. It has recovered more than 6,200 cultural items, including rare books, artworks, and historical artefacts. These items are valued at over USD 485 million. Out of these, more than 5,900 pieces have already been returned to 36 countries. The unit has also secured convictions against 18 individuals involved in cultural property crimes, while extradition proceedings are ongoing for seven more accused traffickers.

The return of these artefacts highlights both the scale of cultural theft and the growing global efforts to address it. Authorities on both sides have indicated that while progress has been made, continued cooperation will be essential to recover many more stolen treasures.