North American Tasks Forces

                                                                 Cultural Crime: The Enigma

 

The annual dollar value of art and cultural property theft is exceeded only by the trafficking in illicit narcotics and arms.

 

The illegal trade of works of art and cultural property is as dangerous as these crimes. The criminal networks that traffic in the illicit sale of Works of Art and Cultural Property are often times the same circles that deal in illegal drug, arms dealing, and other illegal transactions. It has also been found recently that many insurgent and terrorist groups fund their operations through the sales and trade of stolen Works of Art and Cultural Property.

 

To assist in the international effort to combat these crimes and their adverse effects on the communities and the Nation as a whole, the NATF gathers cultural property statistics and routinely forwards cultural property information to various local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. In addition, the NATF provides Cultural Property Theft Reports received from U.S. law enforcement agencies to the INTERPOL Secretariat General so that an International Cultural Property Theft Notice can be issued. With the issuance of an official International Cultural Property Theft Notice, it becomes more difficult to pass legal title on a stolen item, making it harder to trade. The notice issued by INTERPOL is the only legally enforceable notice of its kind.    

 

The NATF actively participates in the coordination of these international cases involving illicit art and antiquities, and treats the perpetrators as seriously as the perpetrators of other crimes.

 

The NATF Cultural Property Crimes Program works with these agencies to track and seek out the return of stolen works of art and cultural property:

 

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Investigations

• INTERPOL Secretariat General - Property Crimes, Works of Art

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Art Theft Program

• U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs- Cultural Heritage Center

• Los Angeles Police Department - Art Theft Detail

• UNESCO - Movable Heritage and Museums - International Council of Museums

 

 

Since 1947, INTERPOL has disseminated information pertaining to the theft of cultural property and works of art. INTERPOL has focused its efforts by publishing and distributing of international stolen property notices.

 

The Secretariat General of INTERPOL publishes a special, quarterly bulletin entitled "The Stolen Works of Art Database" to this extent.

 

This bulletin is available, via subscription, to the general public.