Kim Kardashian West Denies Purchasing 'Looted' Ancient Roman Statue

Kim Kardashian West is in the news again; this time, she has landed herself in an illegal art smuggling controversy after an ancient Roman sculpture was imported in her name to California. According to U.S. officials, the statue was stolen from Italy. But the 40-year-old reality TV star denies purchasing the art piece.

According to court documents filed on Friday in California, the U.S. government has sought the forfeiture of a "looted, smuggled and illegally exported" antique that it believes was being delivered to Kardashian, CNN reported.

A spokesperson for Kardashian told CNN that the star "never purchased this piece" and that "this is the first that she has learned of its existence." The spokesperson, encouraging the investigation into the matter, said that the sculpture “may have been purchased using her (Kim’s) name without authorization and because it was never received (and) she was unaware of the transaction."

According to the court documents, the limestone sculpture -- Fragment of Myron’s Samian Athena -- dates back to the 1st or 2nd century AD and was bought by Kardashian from a Belgian art dealer, the Guardian reported.

The statue, which is said to be from the early-to mid-Roman Empire, was seized at Los Angeles port in June 2016 and Italian officials believe it was originally looted from Italy. The art piece was part of a 5.5-ton shipment having 40 objects valued at a total of $745,882, described as antiques, furniture and decorations rather than archaeological finds.

An AFP report said that a form submitted by a customs broker lists the importer and consignee of the items as "Kim Kardashian dba (doing business as) Noel Roberts Trust," of Woodland Hills, California. The Noel Roberts Trust is an entity associated with Kardashian and her estranged husband Kanye West's U.S. real estate purchases, the report added.

According to the CNN report, art dealer and interior designer Axel Vervoordt was identified in the court documents as one of the item's shippers. Vervoordt has earlier worked with Kardashian and West on their properties.

A representative for Vervoodt said that "there is no evidence that this piece was illegally imported from Italy. Our client, as well as our gallery and the gallery from whom we've bought the piece, have always acted in good faith when dealing with the work."

An archaeologist from Italy said the sculpture had been made in a "classical Peplophoros style (early to mid-Roman Empire), which represents a copy of an original Greek sculpture," the filing stated. It added that Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage has requested that "all efforts be made for the return of the ... statue to Italy."