Dr. Peter Higgs, a former British Museum curator, is accused of stealing and selling nearly 2,000 museum artifacts.

The British Museum has successfully recovered 356 of the missing items and is actively pursuing the return of the remainder.

Higgs is under legal obligation from the High Court to catalog or surrender any retained items and provide details of his eBay and PayPal transactions within four weeks.

Amid the scandal, the museum's director has stepped down, and the chairman of trustees has publicly recognized the harm to the museum's credibility.

The British Museum, established in the 18th century and attracting 6 million visitors a year, is working to mitigate the impact of these events on its standing as a major cultural destination.