"He does not believe what he does should be treated as a crime, but that > the government should buy artefacts at market value."
The old cognitive dissonance! They all try to justify what they do, and say that the *government* should buy the artifacts back from *them*. *They* have a right to it - they rightfully stole it!
Otherwise, they'd have to admit to being petty thieves and destroyers of culture.