PHNOM PENH: The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has called on the relevant institutions to find those responsible for administering fake letters on forged letterheads demanding ancient artifacts from the public.

After discovering the presence of fraudulent letters that have been circulating since April, the Ministry of Culture released a statement today demanding justice. An unknown forger, or group of forgers, has been issuing letters on official letterheads saying that the Ministry of Culture will start confiscating artifacts from people’s private collections for display in the National Museum starting August 1, 2023. It was cited as an effort to preserve and promote national heritage to attract museum visitors. The fake letter also announced that the Ministry of Culture would take legal action against the citizens who hid and kept the artifacts, without handing them over to the Ministry of Culture.

The Ministry completely rejected the letter’s content as fake and called on all relevant institutions to find the culprits and bring them to justice.