District Attorney Cy Vance Jr announced the indictment of Neil Perry Smith, 58, following his extradition from London.
Charges are for possessing and restoring 22 stolen pieces, with an estimated value of more than $32m.
The items were alleged to have been stolen from Cambodia, Thailand, and Nepal and were to be sold at dealer Subhash Kapoor’s New York gallery, Art of the Past.
Perry Smith, Kapoor and six other co-defendants were indicted in October 2019 following a year-long investigation.
Perry Smith has been charged with:
- Grand Larceny in the First Degree, one count
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, nine counts
- Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, four counts
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, 12 counts
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, one count
- Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, one count
- Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, one count
It is alleged Perry Smith worked with Brooklyn-based restorer Richard Salmon.
In July 2020, the DA’s office filed extradition paperwork for Kapoor who is currently in prison in India pending the completion of his ongoing trial in Tamil Nadu.
Kapoor’s indicted co-conspirators Sanjeeve Asokan, Dean Dayal, Ranjeet Kanwar, Aditya Prakash and Vallabh Prakash have not yet been arrested.
Vance thanked the Metropolitan Police Service in London for its assistance with the investigation with Perry Smith.
