Art and crime - the dark side of the antiquities trade

For most people, museums are where we go to look at works of art or ancient artefacts. But those who can afford it prefer to have them much closer, paying millions to display exclusive pieces in their living room or study.

The collection of art and antiquities is worth $50 billion (€45 billion) globally. But whether it’s a rare painting or a unique sculpture there is also unfortunately an ugly side to the art market - and that’s illegal trade.

It's estimated that the illegal art trade makes up about 5 percent of the whole industry, and while that may seem like a small figure, it appears to be a stubborn and growing problem that’s increasingly tarnishing the art world.

During the worst surges of the pandemic, the whole world was locked down but trade in the antiquities black market was more active than ever, generating $10 billion (€9 billion) in just two years. Organisations like UNESCO and INTERPOL tell us that too often, money doesn’t trickle down to the people whose livelihoods depend on finding cultural treasure, and worrying sums are being diverted to fund criminal activities.

The UN’s agency for culture and education, UNESCO has for decades led global efforts in preserving cultural heritage in a safe way.

Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO told Euronews the discovery of new heritage sites and art pieces make it harder to trace their authenticity.

"Since 20 or 30 years, it has become a very huge shift in some parts of the market, and it represents five percent of the market with a huge volume of money that these deals now where it has become easier to traffic antiquities. Many of them are World Heritage sites, and there is a lot that we don't know. And the reason is very specific