What fuels the illicit trade in Indian antiquities? As we have seen in the previous columns, it’s a demand-driven trade and today we are going to have a closer look at another important factor that is impoverishing source nations of their cultural heritage—unregulated museum purchases. Traditionally you would expect museums, that too public-funded national museums, to have stringent policies for acquisitions and purchases as compared to a buccaneering private collector—as they have an obligation to the taxpayer and donors to ensure their monies are spent properly. But the case of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) is a shocker. The museum has often ignored very clear red flags and done little to no due diligence when buying cultural treasures. A few token photo-op restitutions cannot undo the damage on the ground.