Croatia tops list in returning smuggled Turkish artifacts

ANKARA

Croatia has returned the largest share of smuggled cultural artifacts to Türkiye, repatriating 34 percent of the 12,155 items recovered between 2002 and 2024, according to Türkiye’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

Responding to a parliamentary inquiry from main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, Ersoy outlined how Bulgaria returned 25 percent of the artifacts, following Croatia's lead, while Serbia and Germany contributed 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Other countries involved in the repatriation include Hungary (4.2 percent), Switzerland (3.6 percent), Austria (2.6 percent), the United States (2.5 percent) and Italy (1 percent).

The initiative has been part of broader government efforts to recover cultural assets smuggled out of Türkiye. Over the past three years, Türkiye has also prevented more than 700,000 cultural assets from being smuggled abroad, as a result of increased security measures.