About the FBI's      Art Crime Team





Art and cultural property crime - which includes theft, fraud and forgery, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines - is a global problem with estimated losses in the billions of dollars annually.

In order to investigate these important and challenging crimes, recover and repatriate these lost and stolen cultural heritage objects, and to help bring the perpetrators of such crime to justice, the FBI maintains a dedicated Art Crime Team with rapid deployment capabilities.

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Established in 2004, the Art Crime Team consists of Special Agents specifically trained in cultural property matters.

Each Art Crime Team agent is responsible for addressing art and cultural property crime cases in an assigned geographic region, and conducting public outreach to museums, galleries, auction houses, and collectors,

Since its inception, the Art Crime Team has recovered more than 20,000 items of cultural property valued at over $900 million.



The Art Crime Team's work is coordinated through the FBI's Art Crime Program, within the Criminal Investigative Division's Transnational Organized Crime section at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.


Art Crime Team agents receive specialized training in art and cultural property investigations and assist in investigations worldwide in cooperation with foreign law enforcement officials and FBI legal attaché offices. In addition to investigations, the Art Crime Team also provides cultural property training to law enforcement partners both domestically and internationally.




The Art Crime Team works hand in hand with other federal partners to include the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State in combatting the illicit trafficking of cultural property. The Department of Justice assigns special trial attorneys to work with the Art Crime Team and provide prosecutorial support.


FBI Top Ten Art Crimes

In 2005, the FBI Art Crime Program established the Top Ten Art Crimes list to elevate public awareness of art and cultural property thefts, which has resulted in a significant number of new leads to unsolved crimes.


These pieces are uniquely valuable with some being "priceless" in terms of their respective cultural heritage significance.


If you have information concerning the FBI's Top Ten Art Crimes or other crimes involving cultural property, please contact your local FBI field office, the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).