Cambodia secures return of 18 Khmer ANTIQUITIES
30 october 2026, London
Eighteen Khmer antiquities and fragments dating from the 10th to 13th centuries have been presented to the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in London ahead of their return to Cambodia. The antiquities were recovered in November 2025 by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Art and Antiques Unit, with support from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Heritage Crime Task Force.
The collection comprises stone sculptures, bronze ritual objects and jewellery fragments dating from the 10th to 13th centuries. Artefacts include sandstone statue heads in the 11th-century Baphuon style and late 12th-century Bayon style heads.
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia described the return as another significant achievement in the Kingdom’s efforts to bring its lost cultural heritage home.
The Ministry of Culture thanked the Metropolitan Police Service and the OSCE task force for their work in combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property. It also acknowledged its legal advisers, Bradley J. Gordon and Melina Antoniadis, for helping secure the return.
The source and circumstances surrounding the return remain confidential.
Press Release dated 31 October 2026, Royal Embassy of Cambodia in the United Kingdom
Looted Khmer antiquities coming home to Kingdom (Phnom Penh Post, 30 October 2026)
Kingdom secures return of 18 Khmer artefacts from London (Khmer Times, 2 November 2026)
Heritage: 18 Khmer objects recovered in London begin their journey home to Cambodia (Cambodge Mag, 2 November 2026)
Her Excellency TUOT Panha, Ambassador of Cambodia to the United Kingdom, receives 18 Khmer antiquities from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Art and Antiques Unit, in London, in October 2026.