A US court has indicted an American antiquities dealer on charges of trading in stolen Egyptian artifacts, including the head of the Montahotep Statue, which he reportedly sold for $1.2 million.
The federal court in New York also accused Fredrick Sholtz, who owns a showroom for art and Oriental collectibles, of attempting to sell another ancient Egyptian statue for $825,000.
Should the dealer be convicted, he will receive a five-year jail term and a fine exceeding $250,000.
The American prosecutor has accused Sholtz of illegally trading in stolen monuments in the period 1990-1996, and of obtaining these items through an Egyptian partner whose name was not revealed.
The prosecutor said the antiquities were found by construction workers, and that the Egyptian partner claimed in a message to Sholtz that he had found the contents of a Pharaonic temple in 1994.
Sholtz then allegedly transferred money to his partner’s account at a Swiss bank – Albawaba.com
