Thailand’s ambassador to the UK has been instructed to contact the director of University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) over claims the prestigious institution possesses a 13th-century sculpture likely smuggled from Thailand, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

The Culture and Foreign ministries are following up an accusation made by London University’s prominent School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), that it accepted as a gift a 13th-century sculpture possibly smuggled from Thailand.