Indicted in an investigation into antiquities trafficking, he was stripped of part of his duties as ambassador for international cooperation in the field of heritage.
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A decision made “pending clarification of his legal situation.” The former boss of the Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez, indicted in an investigation into antiquities trafficking, has been suspended from part of his duties as ambassador for international cooperation in the field of heritage, announced Friday, June 3 the Ministry of Culture.
Jean Luc Martinez was withdrawn “as a precaution” the “component relating to the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property” as part of his duties as ambassador for international cooperation in the field of heritage, is it specified in a press release. The Ministry of Culture has also set up a mission to assess the procedures for the acquisition of cultural property, the conclusions of which are expected in the summer of 2022.
“Money laundering and complicity in organized fraud”
Jean Luc Martinezat the head of the largest museum in the world from 2013 to 2021, was indicted at the end of May in Paris for “money laundering and complicity in organized fraud”facts that he disputes “with the greatest firmness”, according to his defense. Since February 2020, an investigating judge has been in charge of investigations in this investigation into suspicions of trafficking in antiquities from the Near and Middle East.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Museum announced on Monday that they are taking civil action in this case, the first saying “victim of trafficking in Egyptian antiquities”. As part of this investigation, five Egyptian pieces, in the possession of the Metropolitan Museum in New York but potentially the result of looting, were recently seized by the New York courts.