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View all search resultsUS-ASEAN meet exposes global gap in cultural goods trafficking
Weak oversight and opaque rules on provenance in the international antiquities market create loopholes that can be exploited by illicit traders.
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Headed home: Winanto Adi (right), Indonesia’s consul general in New York, and Col. (ret) Matthew Bogdanos, chief of New York’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, sign an agreement on the repatriation of black-marketed cultural objects on June 17, 2025, at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York, the United States. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/-)
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n Asmat shield from Papua, carved from a single plank of mangrove wood; a double-sided klebit bok (shield) from Kalimantan’s Dayak Kayan tribe, featuring intricate red and black patterns; and a jet-black tunggal panaluan (sacred staff) from the Batak people of Sumatra’s Toba region: These priceless heritage items were returned to Indonesia last year after authorities in the United States seized them from a black market for cultural objects.
Indonesian Consul General in New York Winanto Adi and Manhattan assistant district attorney Matthew Bogdanos formalized their repatriation in June 2025. It was the culmination of an investigation into the three objects, worth US$21,750 on the black market, headed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office since 2011.
This case was highlighted at a US-ASEAN conference on combating cultural property trafficking from held from April 8 to 9 in Jakarta, titled “Safeguarding Southeast Asia's Heritage: Strengthening US-ASEAN Cooperation”. The event was organized by the Antiquities Coalition, a nonprofit focused on cultural racketeering, in partnership with the US Department of State.
Peter M. Haymond, interim charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Jakarta, said in his opening remarks that the illicit trade in cultural objects eroded public trust and strengthened criminal networks.
“Protecting cultural heritage is, therefore, about much more than preserving the past. It is about defending our borders, our citizens and the rule of law today,” he said.
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