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How a British antiquities dealer made millions from an international looting network
- British antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford built a career trafficking looted Khmer artifacts from Cambodia, with federal investigators claiming he knowingly acted as a 'conduit' for plundered antiquities before his 2019 indictment.
- Exploiting Cambodia's civil war turmoil, Latchford acquired sculptures from sites like Koh Ker and fabricated provenance by dubbing a deceased acquaintance a 'false collector' in court documents to legitimize sales.
- Collectors including Netscape co-founder Jim Clark and institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art have returned artifacts linked to Latchford, with museums now devoting substantial resources to reviewing collections following his indictment for wire fraud and smuggling.
- Lawyer Gordon estimates at least 300 looted Khmer artifacts have returned to Cambodia, with a 'huge number of leads' from thousands of documents Latchford's daughter handed over offering hope for further recoveries.
- Journalist Matthew Campbell notes the scandal has 'ended the market' for Khmer art; experts estimate a quarter of traded artifacts touched Latchford's operation, leaving institutions grappling with his toxic legacy.
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13 Articles
13 Articles
Whether you are in a respected museum or in the mansion of a billionaire, it is likely that any Khmer sculpture in the West has been, at some point, torn from an ancient temple complex and trafficked out of...
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources13
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Center
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources are Center
92% Center
C 92%
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