 The party concealed their true purpose – to take priceless traditional art objects and sell them to a European art museum – by pretending to be mere sightseeing tourists and scholars.Malraux had even received special permission from the authorities to explore the Banteay Srei site.However, upon meeting Groslier, Malraux inadvertently aroused the former's suspicions by referring repeatedly to the "commercial value" of the pieces in the Sarraut Museum.