Law, crime and regulation

A DEALER had £50,000 of jewellery stolen when his car was broken into after he returned from a fair in Birmingham. Thieves used the same modus operandi employed in previous thefts at Coinex and in Hatton Garden.

AUCTIONEERS at the latest Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers (SOFAA) seminar were visibly shocked as they learnt how easy it is to become an unwitting party to a bribe.

EBAY’S latest bid to tackle fraud – by insisting UK sellers accept payment via PayPal – has come under attack. Due to come into force on July 9, the online giant says it will help block fraudulent transactions and data theft.

A Kent dealer has received a two-year suspended sentence following a three-year international operation into ivory and whale-tooth smuggling. The case is the latest under Operation Charm, an ongoing campaign against the illegal trade in endangered species in London.

LEGISLATION that risks blighting the trade in a large number of cultural objects could soon be amended thanks to common ground between the art market and the Ministry of Defence.

A Chelsea antiques dealer has been badly injured after taking on an armed gang who smashed up his premises. Ian Towning, the owner of the Bourbon-Hanby Antique Centre, was subjected to months of intimidation, before he fought back when three men wielding sledgehammers and carrying a gun robbed the centre in Sydney Street, London SW3 on the afternoon of Monday June 9.

Sotheby’s New York and Christie's King Street both withdrew furniture lots provenanced to dealers John and Carlton Hobbs from sale last week – casualties of the unfolding "fake" furniture scandal first exposed by The Sunday Times.

A FRENCH court has ruled for the first time that eBay are directly responsible for what is sold on their website.

THE battle over Antiquorum, the world’s leading clock and watch auction house, has stepped up a gear, with significant moves from both sides.

After weeks of legal wrangling, permission has finally been granted to sell property from the bankrupt Manhattan Old Master dealership Salander-O'Reilly Gallery.

Ceramics specialist Ben Williams, who exposed studio pottery forger Jeremy Broadway, has drawn up a guide of how to spot fakes that have still not been traced.

The World Jewellery Confederation have drawn up a voluntary code as a first step in trying to establish an international standard for precious metal jewellery, flatware and hollowware.

CONCERN over credit rules in New York has led a lawyer to draw up guidelines to protect the rights of anyone consigning art to dealers for sale there.

Nearly two years after its rushed introduction in the Republic of Ireland, the Artist’s Resale Right is still causing confusion among auctioneers, dealers, artists and aministrators.

THE French government’s change of heart over the Artist’s Resale Right is being hailed a sea change by fellow ‘anti’ campaigners.

POLICE are warning that the soaring price of metal has led to a huge increase in thefts from gardens, churches and businesses in the UK.

FRENCH culture minister Christine Albanel has announced a major overhaul of France’s auction system to meet President Sarkozy’s urgent call to “turn the French art market around”.

THIS lifesize bust of the actor Charles Dance has been stolen from a car only days before it was due to be entered for exhibition.

Police are looking for a thief resembling this man who stole a valuable clock from an antiques shop in Kent on Sunday March 9.

Burglars made off with a large cache of Doulton figures and silver in a sophisticated raid on Bagham Barn Antiques of Chilham, Kent last month.