Serop Simonian, the alleged leader of an Egyptian antiquities trafficking ring, mysteriously left Paris for Hamburg during his jail sentence in January.
The now 83-year-old dealer is believed to be behind the sale of allegedly smuggled Egyptian antiquities to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre Abu Dhabi for a collective €60 million ($64 million).
In 2022, following a criminal investigation, several objects were seized including a gold sarcophagus and five other antiquities from the Met, as well as the indictment of seven dealers, collectors, and curators such as the former president of the Musée du Louvre Jean-Luc Martinez.
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French authorities issued a warrant for Simonian’s arrest, which prompted the criminal investigation. He was charged with trafficking and laundering in September 2023 and was subsequently jailed in Paris.
Simonian’s lawyer Chloé Arnoux told the Art Newspaper that he “suffers from health problems and needs the assistance of a walker, was authorised to leave Paris by a magistrate on 31 December, to go back to his hometown. After 15 months of detention, the magistrate considered that he could be released.”
She added, “Simonian was then placed under European judicial control and must check in every month at a local police station. He was authorised to go back to Hamburg, where he is in an assisted living facility near his family. But the French prosecutor appealed the decision and it was overturned two weeks later by the court of appeal.”
The court’s ruling, however, states “the risk of flight is significant as Simonian handles a network and funds which would allow him to flee”, Libération reported.
Simonian has not responded to French summons to return to jail in Paris, legal sources say. It remains unclear how authorities will proceed.