KIM Kardashian blamed her estranged husband, Kanye West, for the stolen ancient statue scandal.
She claimed that she was “unsure if he bought it as a gift” after denying she attempted to import it.
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In the most recent development involving an allegedly stolen statue that Kim tried to import into the United States, she claimed that she is now aware that the piece was purchased in her name.
According to reports by The Blast, the SKIMS founder found out this week about Kanye’s art purchase which included the statue.
She claimed it’s unclear if Kanye bought it as a gift, or if he just kept her in the dark.
A Belgium designer named Alex Vervoordt, who allegedly shipped the statue to the United States, is believed to have put Kim’s name and company on the paperwork during the shiping process.
The same designer worked with Kimye in building their massive mansion.
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According to the outlet, the Belgian designer said he purchased the item from a French gallery “in good faith” which claimed they bought it from a German auction house.
He said: “At this point, there is no evidence that this piece was illegally imported from Italy.
“If the investigation proves that the piece was actually exported from Italy without a proper export license from the Italian Ministry of Culture, then we will of course take our responsibility.”
This all comes after Artnet reported that Kim previously bought the limestone statue, known as “Fragment of Myron’s Samian Athena,” from Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium in 2016.
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The antique artwork from around the first or second century was stopped when it arrived in Los Angeles in May 2016.
The report said that authorities were alerted that the statue might be a protected cultural property.
The sculpture was part of a 5.5-ton shipment valued at $745,882 that allegedly contained 40 antiques, as well as Modern furniture and decorative objects.
Officials further examined the statue’s paperwork and found some discrepancies, which led them to become suspicious about where it had come from.
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According to the report, Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage then sent an archaeologist to examine the work in 2018.
The expert concluded that the sculpture had been “looted, smuggled, and illegally exported from Italy,” which led the country to ask for Kim to give it back.
Feds ordered the KUWTK star to hand over the work in a civil forfeiture complaint filed in California on Friday.
While nothing in the investigation suggests that Kim knew about the sculpture’s origins, a spokesperson for the reality star argued that she never purchased the piece.
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Her rep told DailyMail.com: “Kim never purchased this piece and this is the first that she has learned of its existence.
“We believe it may have been purchased using her name without authorization and because it was never received, she was unaware of the transaction.
“We encourage an investigation and hope that it gets returned to the rightful owners.”
The allegations come months after Kim ended her marriage to Kanye, 43.
Kim filed for divorce in February after six years of marriage and months of speculation that the relationship had broken down.
The exes have four children together: North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, one.
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According to TMZ, the Yeezy creator filed for both joint legal and physical custody of their four children.
The pair has decided to co-parent amicably, despite Kanye spending the majority of his time on his Wyoming compound, a thousand miles away from Kim’s LA home.
The celebrity couple has agreed they will split their $2billion fortune evenly, which The Sun exclusively reported after the divorce announcement was made.
Due to his music empire and clothing ventures, Kanye is technically the richer of the two, with a staggering $1.3billion fortune.
The reality star has been linked to a number of men since they officially separated, including CNN reporter Van Jones.
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