Estate of accused art dealer recovers $12 million in case settlement

It has been disclosed that the daughter of accused art dealer Douglas A. J. Latchford has agreed to set aside $12 million from her late father's estate as part of a settlement of a civil case in which he was accused of profiting from the sale of stolen artifacts from Cambodia. It also agreed to turn over to federal authorities a seventh-century bronze statue from Vietnam that U.S. authorities believe Latchford acquired using illegally obtained funds.

The daughter of Douglas A. J. Latchford, listed in court documents as Julia Copleston, inherited more than 125 statues and gold relics that authorities say were stolen from Cambodia, as well as some money from her father. In 2021, she reached an agreement with the Cambodian government over the return of the items. Since then, negotiations have continued regarding Latchford's financial accounts.

"The late Douglas Latchford was a prolific dealer of stolen antiques," said Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent in Charge of Investigations within the U.S.

In recent years, reformed thief Toek Tik, who he said led a group that plundered Khmer temples for two decades, has made headway identifying areas of Cambodia where he helped loot various antiquities. He said some of the most famous artifacts he said he stole were eventually offered for sale by Latchford. According to Toek Thicke, Latchford carried out most of the robberies through an intermediary, even looking at photographs of the temples taken by Toek Thicke himself to decide which items to steal.

The Cambodian government has for some time successfully attempted to recover stolen antiquities and has pursued several museums in the United States and elsewhere. Negotiations are currently underway between Cambodia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Cambodian representatives believe there are dozens of stolen objects stored, some of which were given or sold to the museum by Latchford.

In a statement, representatives of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted the civil case, said that as part of his sales, Latchford provided false provenance documents or made false statements to Customs and Imports when bringing antiques into the United States. They also said Latchford maintained bank accounts in Britain, New York and on the island of Jersey, and that he transferred at least $12 million in laundered money to his Jersey accounts.

Officials said a decision on the distribution of the funds will be made later by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The confiscated seventh-century bronze statue depicts the four-armed goddess Durga, and federal authorities said it was stolen from a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam. Latchford's involvement in the theft was confirmed, authorities said, by emails recovered from his computer.