Art Recovery Ltd is the product of a joint initiative by the New York-based James Mintz Group, of which it will be a wholly owned subsidiary, and London-based Trace.
Mintz are a leading international investigative services firm while Trace are recognised as a global authority on stolen object identification and recovery. Art Recovery Ltd, which will be based both in London and New York, will provide a complete range of art and antiques recovery services to victims of theft and their insurance companies.
Heading Art Recovery Ltd is Andrew Melnick, General Counsel of, and a senior investigator at, the Mintz Group, who heads the firm’s due diligence practice and who also has extensive experience managing complex fraud investigations.
Tony Russell, of James Mintz & Associates, the UK arm of the Mintz Group, will head the London office. An internationally recognised expert in investigating and recovering stolen art and antiques, he co-founded and co-headed New Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiques Squad alongside former Trace managing director Dick Ellis.
Mr Russell retired from New Scotland Yard in 1995 after 28 years of service handling a broad range of criminal investigations. Mr Ellis retired from New Scotland Yard in 1999, and spent a year as the general manager of Christie’s Fine Art Security Services before joining Trace in 2000. Along with senior art fraud investigator Jim Hill, Mr Ellis recently left Trace to serve as senior consultants to Art Recovery Ltd.
Former art squad chiefs to run new recovery firm
TWO specialist services in the world of tracking stolen art have joined forces to launch a new recovery service.
