San Francisco agrees to return illegally exported religious relics to Thailand

SAN FRANCISCO – The city and county of San Francisco have agreed to return a pair of religious relics to Thailand under a settlement reached with the United States, authorities said.

Originally part of ancient Thai temples, the hand-carved 1,500-pound lintels were illegally exported to the United States more than 50 years and subsequently donated to Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

In October, a three-year investigation by Homeland Security Investigations culminated in a complaint to forfeit the lintels, according to the statement. The city and county of San Francisco on Wednesday entered into an agreement to forfeit the lintels.

“The successful outcome of this investigation helps restore Thailand’s cultural heritage for the appreciation and study of this and future generations,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King in the statement.

“The theft and trafficking of cultural artifacts is a tradition as old as the cultures they represent,” King continued. “Returning a nation’s precious cultural antiquities promotes goodwill with foreign governments and citizens, while significantly protecting the world’s cultural history and knowledge of past civilizations. Through our work in this investigation in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, we have diligently sought to ensure the relationship between the United States and Thailand remains one of mutual respect and admiration.”

The lintels will be returned through the U.S. Department of Justice’s victim remission program, and upon their return, they will be placed on exhibition for the religious and cultural appreciation of the people of Thailand, according to the statement.

“I want to thank San Francisco and the Asian Art Museum for their agreement to forfeit these treasures so they may be returned to Thailand,” said U.S. Attorney David Anderson in the statement.

“The United States is committed to returning stolen relics to nations seeking to preserve their heritage,” Anderson continued. “We will use all our power, including civil forfeiture, to ensure that misappropriated cultural items are returned to their rightful owners.”