Plea Agreement between the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY and Hicham Aboutaam
In March of 1999, a prominent US collector visited a gallery in Geneva co-owned by Hicham Aboutaam, who offered a silver ceremonial drinking vessel in the shape of a griffin, described as being pre-Achaemenid (c. 700 B.C.) from a site in western Iran known as the Kalmakareh Cave.
The site was initially excavated in a legal manner by archaeologists sanctioned by the Iranian government. But after the archaeologists left the site at the end of the first phase of the project, the site was looted between 1989 and 1992. Artifacts from this site, smuggled out of Iran to Europe and the U.S. becane known in the antiquities trade as the Western Cave Treasure.
The collector who saw the Silver Griffin illustrated to the right expressed interest in the piece and reportedly agreed to purchase it ... if the dealer could deliver the object to the United States and secure three professional opinions attesting to the object's age and authenticity.
On February 9, 2000, Hicham Aboutaam hand-carried the Silver Griffin through U.S. Customs at Newark International Airport and described the piece as being of Syrian origin on the customs declaration form. Aboutaam subsequently obtained three expert opinions attesting to the Silver Griffin's authenticity; at least one of these opinions expressed the belief that the Silver Griffin is probably part of the Western Cave Treasure. Aboutaam sold the Silver Griffin to the collector in June 2002 for $950,000.
In December 2003, the Silver Griffin was seized from the collector. Hicham Aboutaam was arrested and entered a plea of guilty on June 14, 2004 to one count of presenting a commercial invoice to a Customs Officer which falsely represented that the Silver Griffin came from Syria. While the charge carried a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, Aboutaam paid a reduced fine and served no prison term.
Eighteen months later, Hicham Aboutaam reportedly assisted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the recovery of the headless statue of King Entemena of Lagash, which at the time was one of the most valuable and important artifacts stolen from the Iraq National Museum.
Cultural Heritage Training - Afghanistan - Enforcement Case Studies
