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B-329243 1 (2017-11-09)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadtzc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 B-329243 November 9, 2017 The Honorable Ron Wyden Ranking Member Committee on Finance United States Senate Subject: Laws Authorizing Payment of Financial Rewards for Providing Information about Antiquities Trafficking Dear Senator Wyden: This responds to your request for us to identify federal statutes that address antiquities trafficking and to address whether those statutes authorize federal agencies to pay financial rewards to individuals who provide information about such trafficking.1 In July 2017, a national retail chain agreed to forfeit to the federal government thousands of ancient Iraqi artifacts that had recently been imported in violation of federal law.2 That same month, state law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to seize an ancient vase from a New York art museum that reportedly had been illegally excavated in Italy in the 1970s.3 These cases illustrate the scope of antiquities trafficking affecting the United States today. To respond to your request, we reviewed the United States Code, law review articles, other scholarly articles, and prior GAO reports to identify statutes that specifically address antiquities trafficking.4 Because there is no definition of this term in the United States Code, we defined antiquities trafficking for purposes of this work as the illegal transport, transfer, and sale of historic, human-made objects, such as statues, jewelry, and artifacts. We then analyzed these laws to determine whether they authorize federal agencies to pay rewards to persons other than confidential informants who voluntarily provide information about violations.5 We also met with 1 Letter from Senator Ron Wyden, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance, to Comptroller General, GAO (Sept. 14, 2016). As you are aware, in response to your request, GAO is also conducting a review of the Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service's and the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's use of financial rewards to persons providing information about illegal trafficking of plants, fish, and wildlife. We expect to report on the results of that review in early 2018. 2 Stipulation of Settlement and Decree of Forfeiture between Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and United States, United States v. Approximately 450 Ancient Cuneiform Tablets et al., No. 17-3980 (E.D.N.Y., filed July 5, 2017). 3 Affidavit and Warrant, In the Matter of an Application for a Warrant to Search the Premises Located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10028 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., issued July 24, 2017). 4 We reviewed the United States Code by searching for terms such as antiquity, antiquities, cultural property, and cultural item. 5 Confidential informants provide information and take action at the direction of law enforcement agencies to further investigations. GAO, Confidential Informants: Updates to Policy and Additional Guidance Would Improve Oversight

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