Law, crime and regulation

A Massachusetts auction house is being sued for breach of contract and malpractice after a Chinese vase it sold for $23,000 returned to auction six months later at Christie’s Hong Kong where it brought $1.55m.

Police are warning auctioneers in the South East of England to be on the alert after a string of firms have fallen foul of a man signing dud cheques. In the space of a month at least nine auctioneers have been hit by the deception – parting with antiques with a total value running into tens of thousands of pounds.

S.J. Shrubsole, the well-known silver dealership of New York, have pleaded guilty to failing to collect around $75,000 in city and state sales taxes on over $900,000 worth of goods. The gallery also pleaded guilty to falsifying tax returns filed with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. They have now paid $150,000 in fines relating to the plea.

LAST-minute efforts to persuade the Government to amend legislation that could prove damaging to the honest trade in antiques looked set to pay off as the Antiques Trade Gazette went to press.

LONDON: Police are urging London’s silver and jewellery dealers to be particularly vigilant after a spate of thefts, or attempted thefts, in the West End. In the space of ten days at the beginning of June three shops were hit by thieves including Kenneth Davis Works of Art of King Street who had a Russian gold box by assay master Dmitrii Il’ich Tverskoi stolen by a man at about 4.15 pm on Friday June 13.

The specialist art and antiques insurers AXA Art have issued advice to their clients following the increasing incidence of art theft from country houses during the last few months.

FIRMS condemned by the Information Commissioner for trying to scare businesses into paying unnecessary fees for a straightforward service have stepped up their campaign to mislead. The Antiques Trade Gazette has warned of the dubious practices of a number of firms in trying to force the trade to use their services to register under the Data Protection Act.

In addition to the implementation of VAT on seller fees reported in last week’s issue, eBay will introduce a number of substantial price increases from July 1. Most likely to upset eBay users is the imposition of a 1% charge on items carrying reserves in excess of £100. Previously that fee was just a flat rate of £1.20.

Four police forces in the south of England are investigating a series of deceptions that have hit at least half a dozen dealers for high-value items. Thames Valley, Kent, Hertfordshire and Metropolitan Police are now convinced that what first looked like a series of isolated incidents is in fact part of a systematic con being perpetrated by three runners using a number of modus operandi.

New European Union regulations regarding the collection of VAT on digital services mean that eBay will begin collecting VAT on seller fees from July 1.

Waddesdon Manor, the French chateau-style house built for the Rothschild banking family near Aylesbury, lost a group of around 100 gold boxes and other precious objects from its world-famous collections following a break-in in the early hours of the morning of June 10.

A rare Joseph Wright of Derby mezzotint valued at £9500 was stolen from prints and maps dealer Sanders of Oxford on June 3. At around 4.00pm two white men entered the shop. Both were in their late 40s, one 5ft 7in high of stocky build with short, dark grey hair, the other slightly taller with balding, brown, short hair.

LAPADA has issued some valuable guidelines to the recipients of cheques relating to the Sotheby’s and Christie’s price-fixing settlement in the USA. As the cheques began to arrive by post last week many were surprised to see that the US Federal Government had deducted a withholding tax from the awards.

A man who had a 17th century Dutch panel painting stolen from his home more than 20 years ago has failed in an Appeal Court to win compensation from Christie’s, who offered the picture for sale in 1997. Key to the test case was Christie’s ability to show they had acted in good faith, adding further legal weight to the importance of due diligence.

LONDON: POLICE are hunting a robber who escaped with two bronzes from a Chelsea shop after a violent struggle with the dealer. The robber, who struck at the Chelminski Gallery in the King’s Road on Wednesday, May 14, is thought to be the same man who has attempted a number of similar raids at shops in the area over the past two years.

NEW Money Laundering Regulations, affecting dealers and auctioneers, are due to be published in the middle of June with the new code enforceable after a grace period of three months.

DEALERS are being warned to look out for a well-dressed man using stolen cheques to pay for antiques at fairs.

DUE diligence will effectively become a legal obligation when the Bill aimed at clamping down on the illicit trade in cultural objects becomes law.

Potential impact on legal trade still not clear: Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has set out a five-point plan for the future protection of cultural objects in the light of the looting in Iraq. Central to the plan is the adoption of MP Richard Allan’s Private Member’s Bill, which failed to proceed in parliament earlier this year.

PHONE calls to the Antiques Trade Gazette over the past two weeks make it clear that the trade is still being targeted by credit card fraudsters from Indonesia.