The association of Leonard Stern with the acceptance of the proceeds of the crime of illegal trafficking in antiquities is proven by documents from the Association of Greek Archaeologists in a bombshell announcement that exposes Minister L. Mendoni one day before the passing of the bill accused of legalizing antiquities theft.
Mr. Stern is presented by the Ministry of Culture as the donor of the 161 antiquities, which will pass if the Mendoni bill is passed tomorrow in private hands, in violation of the archaeological law. The Association also reveals that the "Foundation of Ancient Greek Culture" to which the Medoni contract "donates" the antiquities, is nothing more than a special purpose company founded only on June 21 of this year (2022), apparently with an exclusive horizon this year transaction, in a manner analogous to the establishment of offshore companies (off-shore) for the realization of individual business transactions.
"If the Association of Greek Archaeologists can within a few days find the connection of Mr. Stern with the acceptance of the proceeds of the crime of illegal antiquities trafficking, without secret files and without the means available to the competent Services of the Ministry of Defense and the prosecuting authorities, then what could that the Ministry of Culture and Sports in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office had found and proved?" archaeologists rightly ask.
The entire SEA announcement
The collector Leonard Stern proved to be the recipient of finds of antiquarian activity
The Minister of Culture and Sports L. Mendoni argued before the members of the Educational Affairs Committee that the Ministry of Education "did not know about the antiquities of the Stern Collection" and that all the necessary actions were taken from the moment the Metropolitan Museum addressed the Minister, 2 years ago .
What did the Minister do for 2 years? Why did she and her office exclusively handle the case?
For 2 years, the Minister did not address the competent Departments of the Ministry of Antiquities, the Prosecutor specialized in antiquities theft in Greece, nor the Prosecutor of New York, with whom the country has signed 4 Memoranda of Cooperation to combat the illegal trafficking of antiquities. He took no legal action to trace the provenance of the L. Stern collector's items. He did not wonder if they were products of antiquities and the Greek government could claim them and repatriate them immediately. Why;
Is it true that we didn't know about the Stern Collection?
No, it's not true. In 1990 L. Stern exhibited 10 works from his Collection at the Masteries of Cycladic Art exhibition at the Merrin Gallery (8/3-12/4/1990). The objects are published in the exhibition catalog entitled "Masterpieces of Cycladic Art from private collections, muse ums and the Merrin Gallery". From there we get the information that the collector "Harmon Fine Arts", who is identified with Leonard Stern, participated with objects from his personal collection, and the private collector Steichard, who has been banned for life from dealing in art by the Prosecutor's Office N. York.
No. 27 of the "Idol of Sardinia", exhibited in 1990 as part of the L. Stern Collection, directly links Mr. Stern to illegal antiquities trafficking. This is the same figurine that was confiscated in the context of the case of the millionaire collector Steinhardt (see New York Prosecutor's Office, 6.12.2021). The collector bought the figurine directly from Symes, who has been prosecuted for antiquities smuggling! There is a photo of him with traces of the poaching as well as an email also from the Medici archive informing Symes of the poaching. The figurine has already been repatriated to Italy.
What will the government do now?
If the Association of Greek Archaeologists can in a few days find the connection of Mr. Stern with the acceptance of the proceeds of the crime of illegal trafficking in antiquities, without secret files and without the means available to the competent Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the prosecuting authorities, then what could had the Ministry of Culture and Sports in collaboration with the Prosecutor's Office found and proven?
Minister L. Mendoni must answer:
-What was she negotiating for 2 years with Mr. Stern, the private Metropolitan Museum and the Goulandris Foundation and who made up her negotiating team?
-Why in her speech to the Permanent Committee for Educational Affairs in the Parliament did she not mention at any point the origin of the 161 Cycladic antiquities?
- The Minister and her office, who handled the case in secret for two years, were not aware of Leonard Stern's relationship with Mr. Simes and Steinhardt? Now that he knows, what does he intend to do?
-Why does he not present to the Parliament legal documents of the 161 objects of the Stern Collection, as they appear in the annexes of the Draft Law, that prove the origin and thus the legality of their acquisition by Leonard Stern? Does the Minister know very well the "grey" origin of the objects?
-Does the Minister know how many other Greek finds Mr. Stern has in his collection?
- Why does the Minister not give the Parliament the statute and the composition of the Board of Directors of the Foundation of Ancient Greek Culture of Delaware, to which she granted with her signature the possession of the 161 Cycladic antiquities? Is it true or not that the "Foundation" was incorporated in Delaware on 21/6/2022, just one month before the signing of the Agreement, and its form is that of an offshore corporation?
In the relevant document it is proven that what is presented as the "Foundation of Ancient Greek Culture" is nothing more than a special purpose company that was established only on June 21 of this year (2022), apparently with the exclusive horizon of this transaction, in a manner analogous to the establishment of offshore companies (off-shore) to carry out individual business transactions. In fact, the fact that this company is in no way a "cultural institution" is also the fact that it does not appear to have staff or any other activity, on the contrary, as is often the case with such companies, it uses the services of a large company that specializes in service as to the representation of such companies The Corporation Trust Company!
In this American offshore, where no other evidence can be found nor has it been given by the Greek government, will the Greek Parliament hand over possession of the antiquities tomorrow?
The Sarinia figurine, as presented in the exhibition catalog (no. 27) by the Stern collector. It was the product of antiquities and was later confiscated by the New York District Attorney's Office when Steinhardt bought it. And, the same figurine as sent immediately after the poaching, in 6 pieces, to Symes who has been internationally convicted of illegal trafficking.
source https://tvxs.gr photo
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