US billionaire to return stolen antiquities worth $70m

Manhattan prosecutors began investigating Mr Steinhardt’s collection of ancient artefacts in 2017 and raided his office and his Manhattan home in 2018, seizing several artworks that investigators said had been looted
US billionaire to return stolen antiquities worth $70m
Michael Steinhardt will not face criminal charges (Taglit-birthright/David Karp/AP)

US billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt has agreed to turn over $70m worth of stolen antiquities and will be subject to an unprecedented lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities, the Manhattan district attorney has announced.

In return, Mr Steinhardt, a philanthropist who is chair of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and co-founder of Birthright Israel – an organisation that sends Jewish children on free trips to Israel – will not face criminal charges for acquiring pieces that were illegally smuggled out of 11 countries including Egypt, Greece, Israel, Syria and Turkey, prosecutors said.

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