Interpol has issued an international notice against a Lebanese man accused of smuggling stolen antiquities, following weeks of questioning him in Lebanon, according to statements from judicial officials to "Al-Markazia" on Friday. The red notice was issued 10 months after a criminal court in New York issued an arrest warrant for Georges Lotfi, 82, accusing him of possessing stolen property as well as possessing looted antiquities.
Officials did not disclose further details regarding the Interpol notice, which is considered a non-binding request for law enforcement agencies worldwide to arrest a fugitive if they manage to apprehend him. The notice is not an arrest warrant and does not require Lebanon to arrest Lotfi.
Furthermore, U.S. authorities have sent Lotfi's case to Lebanon, requesting local authorities to pursue him. When Lebanese authorities summoned Lotfi for questioning earlier this year, officials reported that he denied the charge of antiquities theft, claiming he purchased them from archaeologists and sold them to a museum in the United States. It later emerged that the twenty-seven artifacts were stolen in 1981 from a storage facility in Lebanon.
The Interpol red notice was published online, stating that Lotfi is accused of possessing first, second, and third-degree stolen property. Lotfi is currently living in Lebanon. Authorities indicated that U.S. officials said they would return the artifacts to Lebanon on the condition that Lebanese authorities arrest Lotfi. They added that once Lebanon officially receives the Interpol notice, authorities are required to summon Lotfi for questioning and confiscate his passport.
