A Roman statue that was allegedly en route to Kim Kardashian is now the subject of a lawsuit by the U.S. government.
Sometimes considered an idol herself, Kardashian is named as an interested party in a lawsuit by the U.S. government regarding a sculpture of the lower half of a human figure. The civil forfeiture suit, filed with the U.S. District Court of Central California last Friday, said that the defendant’s antique Roman statue was “smuggled and illegally exported from Italy.”
“Based on the information and scientific aspects [an] archaeologist provided, the archaeologist opined that the defendant statute was looted, smuggled and illegally exported from Italy,” the filing read.
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The statue was reportedly on display at the booth of Brussels’s Axel Vervoordt gallery in the 2011 edition of the TEFAF art fair that displays antiquities, according to the lawsuit. After it was seized on June 15, 2016, in Los Angeles because “evidence showed that the defendant statue was designated archeological or ethnological material,” authorities discovered the importer’s name was allegedly listed as “Kim Kardashian dba Noel Roberts Trust.”
The reality TV star made headlines earlier this year when she filed for divorce from her husband, Kanye West, on Feb. 19, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The details of the divorce, including custody of assets, such as artwork, are not yet known, though the pair agreed to joint custody of their four children.
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The Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, the part of Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage that plays a role in the safety and protection of Italy’s national cultural heritage, “requested that all efforts be made for the return of the defendant statue to Italy in accordance with the bilateral agreement between Italy and the United States,” according to the filing.
The defendant’s statue is in the custody of Customs and Border Protection, where it will remain subject to the court’s jurisdiction as the legal matter pends.
A spokesperson for Kardashian told the Daily Mail she had never even heard of the statue and was unaware it had been imported in her name.
“Kim never purchased this piece and this is the first that she has learned of its existence,” the spokesman said. “We believe it may have been purchased using her name without authorization and because it was never received, she was unaware of the transaction.”
“We encourage an investigation and hope that it gets returned to the rightful owners.”
