On July 5, 2017, The United States of America filed a civil verified complaint in rem and a stipulation of settlement with the Hobby Lobby Corporation, for the forfeiture of hundreds of cuneiform tablets and ancient artefacts originating from the geographical area of modern day Iraq. According to court proceedings, the craft supplier corporation, Hobby Lobby, imported hundreds of cuneiform tablets and clay bullae, into the United States via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. In 2010, Steve Green, the Hobby Lobby corporation president, travelled to the UAE to inspect a shipment of cultural material; and despite warnings from an expert in cultural property that the objects in question were likely from looted archaeological sites in Iraq,executed a contract to purchase 5,548 artefacts for $1.6 million. From 2010 to 2011, dealers in the UAE and Israel shipped parcels of looted cultural material to three different corporate Hobby Lobby addresses in the US. Each shipment of cultural material was sent without the required customs documentation and under shipping labels which falsely declared that the cuneiform tablets and other cultural property were “ceramic tiles,” “ tile samples,” and “hand made [sic] clay tiles (sample) manufactured in Turkey”. In 2011, U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted five of the shipments of illicit cultural material and identified that each lacked accurate CBP documentation and provenance information. In 2017, Hobby Lobby executed a stipulation of settlement with the US government, thereby recognising the company’s unlawful importation of cultural property into the US. The Hobby Lobby Corporation consented to the forfeiture of the Defendants in Rem (Approximately 450 Ancient Cuneiform Tablets and Approximately 3,000 Ancient Clay Bullae),144 cylinder seals, and an additional sum of $3 million, thereby resolving the civil action.
Estados Unidos de América
Emiratos Árabes Unidos
Israel
Turquía
IraqProperty seized: 144 clay bullae and The Defendants in rem (Approximately 450 ancient cuneiform tablets and approximately 3,000 ancient clay bullae).
The Defendants in rem were seized pursuant to Title 19 U.S.C. 1595a(c)(1XA), as merchandise that was introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law.
Estados Unidos de AméricaIraqUnited States District Court Eastern District of New York
Note Section 5 of the Verified Complaint in Rem explains that at the time of the case the: Venue in the Eastern District of New York is proper as to the Seized Defendants in Rem, pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Sections 1355(b)(1)(B) and 1395(b), in that the Seized Defendants in Rem are presently located in Queens, New York, which lies within the Eastern District of New York.
Between January 3 and January 5, 2011, five Federal Express (FedEx) shipments en route from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to a purchaser in Oklahoma City were detained on arrival in Memphis, Tennessee by officers within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The five detained shipments contained approximately 223 cuneiform tablets and approximately 300 clay bullae (collectively, the Seized Defendants in Rem).
Additional packages containing approximately, 227 cuneiform tablets and 2,700 clay bullae (collectively the Additional Defendants in Rem), were delivered by express post from the UAE and Israel to the same purchaser in Oklahoma.
On January 19, 2011, CBP seized the five detained FedEx packages, and on July 5, 2017, the United States of America filed a civil forfeiture claim for the Defendants in rem (in total 450 Ancient Cuneiform Tablets and Approximately 3,000 Ancient Clay Bullae). The US argued that the Defendants in rem were liable to forfeiture in accordance with Title 19, United States Code, Section 1595a(c)(1)(A), as merchandise that was introduced or attempted to be introduced into the US contrary to law.
The Defendants in rem were determined to be merchandise which had been smuggled or clandestinely imported into the US contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 542 and 545 as well as other laws (See Section 8 of the Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem).
Sections 33-41 of the Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem outline that the Defendants in rem were introduced into the US with false declarations as to the value, description and country of origin of the shipments.
On July 5, 2017the United States of America, requested that the Defendants in rem to be forfeited and condemned to the use of the US, for the US to be awarded its costs and disbursements in this action, and for such other relief and further relief as the Court deemed just and proper.
Defendants in Rem: approximately 450 Cuneiform Tablets and Approximately 3,000 Ancient Clay Bullae.
According to the Settlement Section 5 States That: The Defendants in rem constitute property or merchandise that was introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law, and are therefore subject to forfeiture pursuant to Title 19, United States Code, Section 1595a(c)(1)(A).
Section 7 states that: Hobby Lobby represents that it possesses an exclusive ownership interest in the Defendants in rem. Hobby Lobby further represents and warrants that, as the sole owner of the Defendants in rem, it has all legal right to transfer its exclusive right, title and interest the Defendants in rem without the intervention, consent or approval of a third party.
The Organisation Hobby Lobby possessed exclusive rights over the defendants in Rem.
Forfeiture pursuant to Title 19, United States Code, Section 1595a(c)(1)(A)
Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem
The Stipulation of Settlement Section 11 states that: Hobby Lobby acknowledges that certain money and property, namely (a) the sum of three million dollars and zero cents ($3,000,000.00), and (b) 144 cylinder seals that were imported into the United States without formal entry are subject to civil forfeiture to the United States, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C) as proceeds of one or more violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 542, and/or pursuant to Title 19, United States Code, Section 1595a(c)(1)(A)
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
Stipulation of Settlement: https://www.scribd.com/document/353711907/Stipulation-of-Settlement-in-Hobby-Lobby-Antiquities-Case
Verified Complaint in REM: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/press-release/file/978096/download
Press Announcement Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/united-states-files-civil-action-forfeit-thousands-ancient-iraqi-artifacts-imported
Repatriation Announcement and Conference Announcement May 2, 2018: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/video/united-states-returns-thousands-ancientartifacts-Iraq
The United States of America vs. Approximately Four Hundred and Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three Thousand (3,000) Ancient Clay Bullae demonstrates the importance of export documentation as a tool for law enforcement and customs agents to monitor and prevent the trafficking of cultural property. Article 6, of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, states that the States Parties to this Convention undertake:
(a) To introduce an appropriate certificate in which the exporting State would specify that the export of the cultural property in question is authorized. The certificate should accompany all items of cultural property exported in accordance with the regulations;
(b) to prohibit the exportation of cultural property from their territory unless accompanied by the above-mentioned export certificate;
Following the 1970 UNESCO Convention, there has undoubtedly been an increased effort within signatory nations to screen and monitor the export and import of cultural property worldwide. The United States of America vs. Approximately Four Hundred and Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three Thousand (3,000) Ancient Clay Bullae offers an example of how international and national requirements for exportation documentation can be used to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural property. Further, this case also highlights the importance of civil forfeiture as a means of recovering illicitly trafficked cultural material. Given the many difficulties associated with proving criminal intent in antiquities trafficking cases, civil forfeiture may be an important tool to aid law enforcement agents in recovering illicit antiquities that have been trafficked out of source countries.