Preliminary charges have been filed against the former president of Louvre Museum for antiquities trafficking. This occurred during his tenure as head at the Paris museum.

According to Paris prosecutor's office, Jean-Luc Martinez was charged Wednesday by police in Paris with "complicity of organized fraud" as well as money laundering.

Two of Martinez' former colleagues from the Louvre's Egyptian Antiquities Department were also taken into custody by the prosecutor's office, but they were released without being charged.

Paris's prosecutor did not confirm French media reports that three men were involved in the trafficking heritage items.

Le Canard Enchaine newspaper reported that investigators are investigating whether Martinez "turned his blind eye" to falsified certificates of provenance for five Egyptian antiquities.

According to the newspaper, the pieces, which included a granite Tutankhamun slab or stele, were sold by the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2016, when it acquired several Egyptian antiquities worth tens of million of dollars (dollars).

Martinez, who had been the president of the Louvre since 2013, resigned last year. He is now an ambassador for international cooperation in heritage. Laurence de Cars is the current president of the museum.