Virginia Museum of Fine Arts returns 44 looted antiquities after investigation

An investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations has concluded that 44 of 61 artworks examined at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond were stolen, looted, or illegally trafficked. The probe initially covered 28 works but expanded after additional documents—including sales receipts, shipping records, and export/import certifications—provided evidence for another 28 potentially looted objects. The museum itself requested review of four more items, bringing the total to 61. Among the illicit pieces is an Etruscan warrior statue stolen directly from the Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna in 1963. The other 43 were traced to an international antiquities trafficking ring. Since the works entered the collection between the 1970s and 1990s, no current VMFA employees were implicated. Director Alex Nyerges stated that the museum returns any work found to be illegally held and takes all restitution requests seriously. Investigators Matthew Bogdanos and Robert Mancene praised the museum as 'admirably cooperative.'