On August 2, 2019, a Patek Philippe watch was auctioned off for 6.48 million yuan (US$923,000). It had been offered as a bribe to the former head of the justice bureau in
Anhui Province. The money collected from the auction will go directly to the State treasury. In criminal cases, tons of oils, pangolin scales, antiques, tiger skins, ivory and even ammunition can be seized. Antiques often end up in museums. Shanxi Provincial Antique Bureau received 12,633 antiques, including 73 extremely valuable ones, after a campaign to crackdown on illegal sales of antiques in 2018. Chinese law stipulates that all property illegally obtained by criminal offenders will be impounded or returned to victims, and property including housing, vehicles and watches is usually auctioned, with the money going to the State treasury.
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