The Egyptian government is planning to move forward with a lawsuit against London auction house, Christie’s, following the alleged illegal sale of a 3,000-year-old statue of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Despite Egypt’s efforts to demand the auction house’s proof of ownership and curtail the idol’s sale, it was sold to a secret buyer for $6 million. Al Jazeera reports that the Egyptian government has tapped on Interpol to investigate the matter, along with possible hire of a British law firm to file a civil suit against the auction house. 

“They left us with no other option, but to go to court to restore our smuggled antiquities,” Minister Khaled al-Enany told BBC News.

More than 30 other Egyptian artifacts were sold at the same auction, reports BBC. 

"We will leave no stone unturned until we repatriate the Tutankhamun bust and the other 32 pieces sold by Christie's. This is human heritage that should be on public display in its country of origin,” al-Enany said.

Egyptian officials said the bust appeared to have been "stolen" in the 1970s from the Temple of Karnak. 

Christie’s refutes any wrongdoing and insists they “clearly carried out extensive due diligence" on the sale of the Egyptian bust. 

According to the BBC, several businessmen and civil society organizations in Egypt are looking to fund the civil suit.