<P> Concerns have also been raised regarding the provenance of the artifacts in the collection . In response to this issue, the museum appointed David Trobisch, a liberal European scholar, as director of the collection and charged him with displaying transparency and satisfying critics . Using a dozen researchers, Trobisch cataloged the history, authenticity and acquisition of the nearly 40,000 artifacts in the collection . Trobisch says he has "yet to find a questionable piece". </P> <P> More recently, the founders of the museum were forced to relinquish thousands of artifacts because they were smuggled out of Iraq via the United Arab Emirates . Notably Hobby Lobby neglected to confirm where the artifacts had been stored . Hobby Lobby was forced to relinquish 5,500 artifacts and to pay a $3 million settlement . The Justice Department discusses archaeological looting in Iraq: </P> <P> In October 2010, an expert on cultural property law retained by Hobby Lobby warned the company that the acquisition of cultural property likely from Iraq, including cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, carries a risk that such objects may have been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq . The expert also advised Hobby Lobby to review its collection of antiquities for any objects of Iraqi origin and to verify that their country of origin was properly declared at the time of importation into the United States . The expert warned Hobby Lobby that an improper declaration of country of origin for cultural property could lead to seizure and forfeiture of the artifacts by CBP U.S. Customs and Border Protection . </P> <P> The Museum of the Bible responded by noting that they are an entirely separate organization which "was not a party to either the investigation or the settlement ." The Museum voluntarily "adheres to the current Association of Art Museum Directors' standards on the Acquisition of Archaeological Material and Ancient Art, as well as guidelines set forth by the American Alliance of Museums" and, further, that "none of the artifacts identified in the settlement are part of the Museum's collection, nor have they ever been ." </P>

Who is funding the museum of the bible