Here's an odd story involving an ancient Roman statue, alleged smuggling, and the name Kim Kardashian. As NBC News reports, in 2016 said statue arrived at the Port of Los Angeles, with the buyer designated as "Kim Kardashian dba Noel Roberts Trust." It was sold by Belgian interior designer Axel Vervoordt, who has previously assisted Kardashian with home decor, and was one item in a 40-item lot of antiques and furniture valued in its entirety at $745,882. Suspecting it had not been legally exported, the statue was seized. Now, Kardashian's name appears in a civil forfeiture claim for the statue, though a representative for Kardashian says the celeb has nothing to do with the piece. "We believe it may have been purchased using her name without authorization and because it was never received, she was unaware of the transaction," the rep said.
The Guardian notes that the court documents do not accuse Kardashian of any crimes. The US has clamped down on the flow of archaeological material from Italy to the US as a means of deterring looting. An Italian archaeologist examined the statue, known as Fragment of Myron's Samian Athena, in early 2018 and determined it was likely from the Roman empire. "Based on the information and scientific aspects the archaeologist provided, the archaeologist opined that the defendant statue was looted, smuggled, and illegally exported from Italy," reads the claim. The Los Angeles Times takes note of one quirky detail: The defendant in the case is the statue, not Kardashian. It remains in Customs and Border Protection custody. (More looting stories.)
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