Kim Kardashian Hit With Federal Civil Forfeiture Action Over Ancient Roman Statue Believed To Be Looted, Smuggled From Italy

Los Angeles CA

05 May, 2021

5:55 PM

Description

By CBSLA Staff, CBS Los Angeles: LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Kim Kardashian was named in a federal civil forfeiture action over statue known as "Fragment of Myron's Samian Athena" that is believed to have been looted and smuggled from Italy. The statue was seized by Homeland Security Investigations officials at the Port of Los Angeles in May of 2016 as a possibly protected cultural property from Italy, according to the civil forfeiture action filed on April 30. The marble and limestone statue, which consists of the lower half of a human figure, was purchased by Axel Vervoordt, whom Artnet.com identified as the art dealer and interior designer who decorated Kardashian's Calabasas mansion. The statue was in a 5-ton shipment labeled "Antiques & Modern Furniture & Decorations Objects," with a value of $745,882, and addressed to "Kim Kardashian dba Noel Roberts Trust" in Woodland Hills. Homeland Security Investigations officials have had the statue in its custody since 2016, during which time they collected documentation on the piece and had it examined by an archaeologist from Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Read more at CBSLA CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.