US returns $100 million worth of art to India

The US government has returned to India more than 200 art objects smuggled out of the country by smugglers. The objects are worth about $100 million, as reported by PTI.

US Capitol. Photo: Sputnik.

The formal handover ceremony was held in Washington DC in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently arrived in the US on an official visit.

Among the returned artifacts are religious statues, bronze and terracotta figurines, some of which are no less than 2,000 years old.

The valuable works of art were returned thanks to an operation by the US Department of the Interior. Department agents launched the investigation in 2007 after receiving information about illegal goods being imported into the US. The shipment belonged to Sabhashu Kapoor, the former owner of the New York Antiques Gallery, who is currently under investigation in India.

According to Sputnik