The director of the British Museum has stepped down amid an investigation into the alleged theft of gold and artifacts from the famous London institution.
Hartwig Fischer鈥檚 resignation has been accepted by the museum鈥檚 board of trustees.
Explaining his decision in a statement on Friday, Fischer said: 鈥淥ver the last few days I have been reviewing in detail the events around the thefts from the British Museum and the investigation into them.
鈥淚t is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings in 2021, and to the problem that has now fully emerged.鈥
The museum said in a statement last week that a number of items from the museum鈥檚 collection were found to be 鈥渕issing, stolen or damaged,鈥 leading to the dismissal of an employee and an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
鈥淭he British Museum has launched an independent review of security after items from the collection were found to be missing, stolen or damaged. A member of staff has been dismissed, and the Museum will now be taking legal action against the individual,鈥 it said.
鈥淭he matter is also under investigation by the Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police.鈥
In a statement provided to CNN, the Metropolitan Police said: 鈥淲e have been working alongside the British Museum. There is currently an ongoing investigation 鈥 there is no arrest and enquiries continue.鈥
The majority of the items were 鈥渟mall pieces kept in a storeroom鈥 belonging to one of the museum鈥檚 collections. 鈥淭hey include gold jewelry and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD,鈥 the museum said, adding none of the items had recently been on public display, and were kept mostly for academic and research purposes.
Fischer described the incident as 鈥渉ighly unusual,鈥 while George Osborne, chair of the museum, said it was a 鈥渟ad day for all who love our British Museum, but we鈥檙e determined to right the wrongs and use the experience to build a stronger Museum.鈥
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