The Cambodian government said US billionaire George Lindemann purchased ancient Khmer sculptures stolen years ago from one of the country's sacred sites, The Washington Post reports.

Stone relics, which appeared in the pictures for gloss in the house of the daughter of billionaire Sloan Lindemann Barnett, depict the heads of gods and demons. The photographs containing the sculptures were later retouched, resulting in the images of the statues being removed.

It is assumed that the sculptures previously belonged to the parents of Lindemann Barnett, and are now kept by their daughter. The architectural collection appeared on footage of the billionaire's home in a 2008 issue of Architectural Digest and was described as"one of the greatest collections of Southeast Asian art in private hands.

The family has Khmer artifacts, many of which the Cambodian government suspects have been stolen. Two of them appear to match the sculptures, which are among the country's 10 most important stolen relics, authorities said.