US returns billionaire's plundered artifacts to Jordan

JERUSALEM (AP) — American authorities have returned nine looted artifacts to Jordan that were seized from a U.S. billionaire collector as part of a landmark deal announced in December.

The artifacts were among 180 items seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's office as part of an agreement with collector Michael Steinhardt to surrender trafficked artifacts and avoid prosecution. The deal capped a four-year investigation into Steinhardt’s possession of looted antiquities.

The Jordanian Antiquities Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Jordan held a ceremony in Jordan's capital, Amman, on Tuesday showcasing the objects that were “illegally smuggled from Jordan and obtained by an antiquities collector in the United States," the embassy said in a statement.

“This is a testament to the United States’ commitment to help protect Jordan’s cultural heritage. With today’s repatriation of Jordanian antiquities, we are keeping this promise,” Ambassador Henry T. Wooster said.

The American and Jordanian authorities' press statements did not mention Steinhardt by name, but seven of the artifacts that appeared in photos published by the ministry matched the description of Jordanian items in court documents.

Two ancient Jewish tombstones that were plundered from Jordan and bought by Steinhardt from an Israeli antiquities dealer did not appear in photos from the press conference. The director of the Jordanian Antiquities Ministry did not respond to request for comment.

Since the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced the agreement in December, U.S. authorities have returned Steinhardt's plundered artifacts to Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Libya, Iraq, and now Jordan. Steinhardt was not accused of plundering any items himself and has said he did not commit any crime. But the DA’s...