Cultural Goods Crime

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Cultural goods crime impacts societies both inside and outside the EU. It typically revolves around three phenomena: 

  • Theft – when original cultural goods are robbed from their owners or caretakers; 
  • Looting – the removal of ancient relics from archaeological sites and old buildings; 
  • Forgery – the illegal imitation of cultural goods.

Cultural goods crime is one of the EU’s priorities in the fight against serious and organised crime, falling under organised property crime as part of EMPACT 2022 - 2025.

Each is a serious offence, and cultural goods crime generates lucrative earnings for organised criminal groups every year. There is also a close connection between cultural goods crime and other serious criminal activities, such as money laundering. Furthermore, such crimes are usually transnational by nature, with production or acquisition taking place in one country and sales taking place overseas. This is why law enforcement around the world works with Europol to combat cultural goods crime.

As the EU’s law enforcement agency, Europol supports the EU Member States in the fight against cultural goods crime through the experienced specialists and analysts based in the European Serious and Organised Crime Centre. They provide operational coordination and analysis support to investigating officers in the Member States. Europol’s role in facilitating police cooperation is crucial as networks behind this crime are quick to exploit opportunities offered by the globalised market, such as the rise of online marketplaces and adoption of social media.

The term ‘cultural goods’ encompasses all manner of valuable objects relating to human culture, such as historical artefacts, works of art, and antiques – as well as forgeries of such objects. On top of the financial losses these crimes generate, they can have a devastating impact on countries’ cultural heritage, causing the loss of inestimable works of art and the irreversible destruction of cultural sites.

Recovering Stolen Heritage in Europe

In 2022, Europol hosted an art exhibition at its headquarters in partnership with the Italian Carabinieri’s Command for Cultural Heritage Protection. The exhibition, entitled 'The  Recovered Collection', featured precious objects recovered by police over the course of Europol-supported operations against cultural goods crime. The exhibition also featured as part of an open day at Europol, so members of the public were able to come and see these rare and valuable artefacts for themselves.  

Download the official brochure for The Recovered Collection.