Kim Kardashian has been accused of buying an illegally exported ancient Roman statue from Italy. She claims, however, that she was unaware of the exchange.
According to documents filed in a California court last Friday, the sculpture in question is a 1st or 2nd century AD limestone sculpture. According to CNN, the monument was confiscated by federal authorities at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in 2016 due to a lack of details about its source. Officials later concluded that the piece was “looted, stolen, and illegally exported” in a shipment containing 40 pieces valued at about $745,000. There was no mention of archeological discoveries on the customs type.
The importer was allegedly identified as Kardashian’s trust, but a spokesperson for the multi-hyphenate refuted the claims, saying Kardashian never purchased the statue and that “this is the first that she has learned of its existence.”
“We believe that it may have been purchased using her name without authorization and because it was never received (and) she was unaware of the transaction,” the spokesperson told CNN. “We encourage an investigation and hope that it gets returned to the rightful owners.”
Axel Vervoordt was also identified as one of the item’s shippers in court records. Authorities in Italy claim Vervoordt had the sculpture in his possession as early as 2011, a year before he allegedly purchased it. Officials refer to a photograph taken at the European Fine Art Fair in 2011 that shows the artifact on display at Vervoordt’s booth at the annual art fair.
Vervoordt’s spokesperson told CNN that he and his team were “informed only yesterday that the US government has filed for forfeiture” of the sculpture. “There is no evidence that this piece was illegally imported from Italy. Our client, as well as our gallery and the gallery from whom we’ve bought the piece, have always acted in good faith when dealing with the work.”
According to Italian officials, the item should be returned “in accordance with the bilateral agreement between Italy and the United States.”
