Looting History

...of Syria's Past: ISIS funded its murderous regime by ripping loot out of the ground and selling it to the highest bidder. But will dealers, auction houses, museums and collectors acknowledge that their cash was directly funding murder and mayhem?

A tiny fragment of papyrus worth more than its weight in gold is the beginning of the end for superstar Oxford don Dirk Obbink. It’s the latest chapter in the pillage of Ancient Egypt, where looting is a way of life.

Customs officials in Memphis find looted antiquities in a shipment labeled "tile samples." A chase across continents leads to Muslim extremists in Iraq. The Green family is impacted by the scandal.

...and The Getty Museum: Curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum�s antiquities collection, Marion True, is in disgrace. Her downfall is brought about by jet-setting antiquities dealer, Robin Symes, and his lover and business partner, shipping heir Christo Michaelides.

...and the Greek Pot of Gold: Michael Steinhardt, the largest private collector of antiquities, is forced to turn over $70 million dollars� worth of stolen loot and banned from collecting. His undoing comes after a four-year investigation known as Operation Demetra.

...and the Cambodian Killing Fields: As Douglas Latchford is accused of masterminding a multimillion-dollar racket in loot stolen from Cambodia's killing fields, museums and collectors face the grim reality that they're in possession of stolen property.

...Of Stolen Art: 2012. The search of a flat in Munich, owned by elderly recluse, Cornelius Gurlitt, reveals how Gurlitt�s part-Jewish father, Hildebrand, struck a deal with the devil � and became an art dealer for Adolf Hitler.