Inside the museum however, that was not the end of it.
In December 2021, a routine spot-check revealed items were missing in the Greece and Rome department and a top-secret second investigation was launched. The following April, a curator was hired to check every single item - although under the supervision of department head, Peter Higgs.
Nevertheless, it was becoming clear that something was very wrong.
The museum says the hired curator discovered that more than 300 registered items, many with gold mounts, had been damaged or stolen. Some of those remaining had deep gouging and scratches, which looked like marks left by pliers.
When the curator went on to look at the unregistered items contained in one particular storeroom, court documents claim she discovered that 1,161 items were missing - more than three-quarters of its entire contents.
The curator handed over preliminary reports to her boss, Dr Higgs, in late December 2022 and the museum’s court documents claim Peter Higgs tried to delay escalating the findings several times.
At first, he said it wouldn’t be good to announce the news before a weekend or Christmas, the documents claim - then, they continue, he said it was his birthday and he didn’t want to deal with the matter.
But, according to the museum, the curator insisted and her findings quickly made their way to the top.
The museum’s director at the time, Hartwig Fisher, shared the information with chairman George Osborne.
Two months before, Dr Gradel had managed to reach Mr Osborne to tell him about his suspicions. Mr Osborne told us he had been assured at the time, that they had already been investigated.
This fresh information, however, seemed too much of a coincidence.