Law, crime and regulation

Legal cases, stolen art, regulation and tax issues remain important part of the art and antiques sector.

This category ranges from the levy of the Artist’s Resale Right to controversies over fakes and forgeries.


ABA bid to trace serial forger’s work

05 November 2012

The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association is taking the fight to forgers after one of its members was instrumental in bringing serial forger Allan Formhals to justice.

Qatari’s unpaid bill reaches High Court

05 November 2012

The High Court has reserved judgment on whether to continue freezing the assets of a Qatari sheikh accused of being a serial defaulter on debts run up at auction.

Charges made over cheque fraud at fairs

05 November 2012

Two men have been charged with fraud connected to incidents at antiques fairs.

Chinese art market concerns raise question of regulation

05 November 2012

The Chinese government is considering regulation of the country’s burgeoning but problematic art market.

2064BP01B-12-10-31.jpg

Artist’s Resale Right: good intentions, bad law

31 October 2012

PERSONAL VIEW: Simon Stokes, who has just published his updated legal guide, puts the whole issue of the Artist’s Resale Right in context.

If you think you have it bad in the UK…

31 October 2012

PERSONAL VIEW: Jolyon Warwick James, President of the Australian Antique and Art Dealers’ Association (AAADA, NSW Chapter) and chairman of the Australian Antiques and Art Market Federation (AAAMF), examines the problems with the Artist’s Resale Right in Australia.

Gang could be targeting Portobello

29 October 2012

Portobello Road dealers fear they are being targeted by a gang of robbers after the latest attack on traders this year.

Shock ruling to reveal names of consignors

23 October 2012

Christie’s have joined auctioneers William J. Jenack in a bid to overturn a legal ruling that says New York salerooms must reveal consignors’ names to buyers.

French government backs down on art tax

22 October 2012

In the face of strong opposition from the art world, the French government appeared to back down last week from a move to include works of art valued at over €50,000 in annual assessments for wealth tax.

£2.2m Qatari coin bill remains unpaid

22 October 2012

Noble Investments plc, owners of A.H. Baldwin, the coin dealers and auctioneers, have announced that £2.2m in commissions due from “a significant Qatari collector” remains unpaid.

Trio charged over string of burglaries at auctioneers

15 October 2012

Three men charged in connection with a series of burglaries involving auction houses in the South of England will appear at crown court in January.

Greek strikes delay Hay appeal

15 October 2012

Malcolm Hay, the dealer controversially convicted by an Athens court of trading in illegally excavated antiquities, has learnt that the hearing of the appeal he lodged in March 2011 has been delayed until February 1, 2013 owing to disruption caused by strikes in Greece.

Credit card fraud continues to plague auction houses

08 October 2012

Credit card fraud affecting auction houses has reared its ugly head again and the details will sound depressingly familiar to firms already affected.

Three jailed for the Fitzwilliam theft

02 October 2012

Three men have been jailed for a total of 18 years for their involvement in the theft of Chinese artefacts from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

2042NE03A-12-05-21.jpg (1)

Wenlok Jug recovered by police

02 October 2012

The 14th century Wenlok Jug has been returned to a Luton museum after it was stolen in May.

New wreck discovered in South China Sea

01 October 2012

Fishermen are reported to have discovered another ancient shipwreck, complete with cargo, in the South China Sea near Vung Tau off the South East coast of Vietnam.

2058NE02A-18-09-12.jpg

Export ban hits restorers using rattan

18 September 2012

The antiques trade could soon fall victim to the global rattan shortage prompted by an Indonesian export ban.

Resale Right guide update

17 September 2012

Leading copyright lawyer Simon Stokes has just published the Second Edition of ‘Artist’s Resale Right’, the industry guide to the law as it applies to Droit de Suite.

Bounced cheques – man arrested

17 September 2012

A 51-year-old man has been arrested in connection with ‘bounced cheques’ at an antiques fair.

Men jailed over rhino head theft

17 September 2012

Two men have been jailed for a string of burglaries across the South East which included taking a rhino head from Haslemere Museum in Surrey.

News

Categories