Observe · Regulate · Protect — since 2007. 19th OIMAP General Assembly: Singapore, 10–12 June 2026. Programme
OIMAP
OIMAP
International Organisation
for the Art Market and Heritage
24 October 2026 · Updated at 07:47 GMT FR EN ES Member area Log in
Protection

Overview of illicit trafficking

The state of trafficking in cultural property in the world: regions affected, property targeted, recent developments and aggravating factors.

Updated : October 28, 2026· 3 min read

Mapping the shadow

Two Boats with Female Mourners (c. 667–647 BCE)
Two Boats with Female Mourners (c. 667–647 BCE)

Because it is clandestine, trafficking in cultural property is poorly known. OIMAP, with its partners, has developed an estimation method based on three sources: seizures, reports in the BIOP database and field investigations. From it, it draws an indicative overview, regularly updated.

The overview distinguishes regions of origin, transit countries and destination countries. It also describes the most sought-after property and the factors that favour looting.

It serves as a basis for prevention policies and aid to States.

  • Overview
  • Trafficking
  • Routes

Overview of illicit trafficking in figures

€3–6 bnIndicative annual estimate
54Countries concerned by alerts
1,920Active alerts
+12%Rise in reports in 2024

Source: OIMAP Heritage Protection Department.

Breakdown

Origin: Middle East28%
Origin: Africa24%
Origin: Americas18%
Origin: Asia16%
Origin: Europe14%

Origin of property reported (indicative).

Regions and routes

Regions with a high density of archaeological sites — the Middle East, North Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America — are the most affected by looting. Routes often go through transit countries where controls are weaker, before arriving in destination markets in Europe, North America or Asia.

Free ports, certain free zones and small regional salerooms are sometimes used to blur provenance. WCO and INTERPOL controls target these links.

Fishing Boats along the Beach, Eugène Isabey (c. 1830)
Fishing Boats along the Beach, Eugène Isabey (c. 1830)
The Calumny of Apelles, Giorgio Ghisi (1560)
The Calumny of Apelles, Giorgio Ghisi (1560)
Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1800)
Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1800)

Targeted property and motivations

The most sought-after property combines high value, small volume and limited documentation: coins, jewellery, statuettes, cylinder seals, manuscripts, masks. Contemporary works of art, being more recent, are increasingly targeted by opportunist thefts.

Motivations vary: profit for organised networks, subsistence for local populations, financing of conflicts in certain regions. This diversity calls for different responses, from repression to economic aid.

The role of digital

The Internet has transformed trafficking: online listings, social networks and messaging apps make it possible to offer property worldwide with little control. Platforms approved by OIMAP have committed to checking at-risk listings, but the phenomenon continues to evolve.

Payments in crypto-assets, delivery by intermediaries and the sale of tokens backed by works add new opportunities for concealment. It is a field of permanent monitoring for the BIOP unit and the authorities.

International responses

Faced with the worldwide dimension of the phenomenon, responses are organised at several levels: international conventions (UNESCO 1970, UNIDROIT 1995), police cooperation with INTERPOL, customs cooperation with the WCO, and national schemes for protecting sites.

OIMAP complements this system with the BIOP database, operators' due diligence and training programmes. It argues for a comprehensive approach, combining prevention, control and awareness-raising.

Regions of looting and destination

Roles of the regions
RegionMain roleTypical property
Middle EastOriginCylinder seals, statuettes, coins
AfricaOrigin and transitMasks, sculptures, bronzes
Latin AmericaOriginCeramics, goldsmiths' work
South-East AsiaOrigin and transitBronzes, statues
Europe, North America, AsiaDestinationAll property

Landmarks

  1. First work

    Working group.

  2. First estimate

    Shared method.

  3. Thematic report

    Trafficking and digital.

  4. Updated overview

    Data from 54 countries.

Estimates, not certainties

Mit Rahina Ware Vessel (200–100 BCE)
Mit Rahina Ware Vessel (200–100 BCE)
Sailing Vessels: Armed Four-Master Putting Out to Sea, Pieter Bruegel (1561–65)
Sailing Vessels: Armed Four-Master Putting Out to Sea, Pieter Bruegel (1561–65)
Dr. James Stuart; Mary Campbell Stuart, Gilbert Stuart (c. 1815)
Dr. James Stuart; Mary Campbell Stuart, Gilbert Stuart (c. 1815)

Source or destination

Landscape with Saint John the Baptist, Herri met de Bles (c. 1540)

Source country

Where property is looted or stolen
  • Rich heritage
  • Limited means
  • Need for support

Priority of prevention.

Talatat: Nefertiti Offers to the Aten (1353–1347 BCE)

Destination countries

Where property is sold
  • Active market
  • Means of control
  • Operators' responsibility

Priority of due diligence.

Reading an overview

  1. Choose

    Define the region.

  2. Compare

    Examine the trends.

  3. Cross-check

    Use the alerts.

  4. Interpret

    Take the limits into account.

  5. Act

    Adapt your practices.

Points of vigilance

An archaeologist

Sketchbook, The Dells, N° 127, page 090 & 91: Harbor with a Road, Maurice Prendergast (c. 1919–1921)
« When a site is looted, it is not only the object that disappears, it is the whole context that made it possible to understand it. »
Prof. Leïla Haddad, archaeologist

Vocabulary of the overview

Source country
State from which property comes.
Transit countries
State through which property passes.
Free zone
Zone with reduced taxation.
Cylinder seal
Small engraved cylindrical object of Antiquity.

Frequently asked questions

Where do these estimates come from?

From seizures, the BIOP and investigations.

Is trafficking increasing?

Reports rose by 12% in 2024, which partly reflects better detection.

What share is linked to conflicts?

It is impossible to quantify precisely.

Where can I find more details?

See Reports.

Useful documents

Contacts

Small Mosque in the Kaiserbagh, Felice A. Beato (1858)
Small Mosque in the Kaiserbagh, Felice A. Beato (1858)
Heritage Protection DepartmentParis — Headquarters+33 1 00 00 03 00protection@oimap.exampleMonday to Friday, 9 am – 5 pm

See the networks

Sketches in Belgium and Germany, Volume I: Hall of Justice of the Magistrates du Franc, Bruges, Louis Haghe (1840)

How trafficking works.

Networks
Image credits (16)
▲