Kardashian did not buy the ancient Roman sculpture, which federal authorities are trying to confiscate after it was imported into the US five years ago, a spokesman for the reality TV star said Wednesday. Italian officials believe that the sculpture, described as "Fragment of the Samian Athena Miron, limestone, 1-2 century AD", was originally stolen from Italy and they want to return it, according to a civil forfeiture lawsuit filed in the federal court of Los Angeles last week.
The case dates back to 2016, when the antique statue arrived at the Port of Los Angeles and immediately attracted the attention of US Customs and Border Protection officers. The broker provided CBP with a form in which the recipient, buyer and importer were listed as “Kim Kardashian dba Noel Roberts Trust”. The documentation states that the batch, containing antiques, furniture, and ornaments, contained 40 items, valued at $ 745,882.
The representative of the star assures that the statue could be bought in her name without permission, so she did not know about the deal. “We encourage investigation and hope that the statue will be returned to its rightful owners,” a Kardashian spokesman said.
The United States and Italy have entered into an agreement to end the illicit trafficking in looted cultural property, which requires documentation to be imported.