The man who exposed hundreds of British Museum thefts - but didn't live to see justice

As of April 28, 2026, the police investigation into the thefts at the British Museum was still ongoing, more than three years after the museum reported the case to Scotland Yard.

Gradel died of cancer in a Danish hospice at the age of 61, having said he hoped that charges would be brought before his death.

In his final days, the British Museum awarded Gradel its medal, recognizing his expertise and his determination to right wrongs, as noted by director Nicholas Cullinan.

During the 2023 engagements, Gradel showed hundreds of gems with white dots indicating they belonged to the museum. He ultimately signed more than 360 items back to the museum, including stones that had been bought unknowingly.

The journalist first met Gradel in Summer 2023 at his Danish home, where Gradel recounted how he had pieced together the thefts and the key pieces of evidence he had shared with museum leadership in 2021.

Following the public emergence of Gradel's warnings, the museum's director Hartwig Fischer resigned, acknowledging that the institution had not responded as comprehensively as it should have to the warnings issued in 2021.

In 2023, after its own investigation, the museum announced that 2,000 items from its collection were stolen, missing or damaged.

Following pressure from Gradel, the British Museum finally reported the thefts to Scotland Yard, triggering a police inquiry that would extend over many years.

The museum's then deputy director, Jonathan Williams, wrote to Gradel five months after his 2021 warnings, stating that all objects were accounted for and that his claims were unfounded.

Gradel said the renal cancer diagnosed in 2010 returned in 2022, prompting him to focus on finishing his work before death.

In 2021, Gradel attempted to persuade the museum to investigate after suspecting that gems from its collection were being sold online. He provided evidence including a PayPal receipt bearing the name of a curator he suspected of selling items (Peter Higgs). The museum reportedly dismissed his concerns at the time.

Gradel was diagnosed with renal cancer in 2010, a condition that would recur later in his life.

Ittai Gradel was born in 1965 and, at about 18, moved to the UK after finishing school. He fell in love with the British Museum, began spending long hours there, and developed a deep, detailed knowledge of its collection, including a photographic memory that aided his later investigative work.