Law, crime and regulation

A masonic ceremonial sword which disappeared in a car theft has been recovered after emerging at a London auction house.

St James’s textile specialist S Franses has won an appeal in court for the right to stay in its gallery in central London.

Three Francis Bacon artworks stolen in Madrid in 2015 have been recovered by Spanish police near Barcelona.

Michael Gove MP gave his first speech as environment minister today and has vowed to tackle the illegal ivory trade. However, he made no reference to a total ban on ivory.

The UK government plans to renew the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 to extend beyond its 2019 end to ensure the law remains indefinitely.

The British Hallmarking Council has launched a public consultation into the issue of UK assay offices using traditional hallmarks in overseas operations.

An important glazed Islamic calligraphic tile stolen in Uzbekistan is to be returned to the country after it was discovered for sale in a London gallery.

New rules coming into force in January 2018 mean that dealers and auctioneers can no longer add extra charges to cover credit or debit card fees when processing transactions.

The new arts minister John Glen MP has vowed he will do all he can to support the art market’s interests in government.

Small businesses are celebrating after plans to enforce online quarterly reporting were delayed by government.

Glafira Rosales, the Long Island art dealer who in 2013 pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion in the Knoedler art forgery case, has been ordered to pay $81m to victims of the fraud.

A dealer is on trial in Newport Crown Court charged with 11 counts of fraud and three of handling stolen goods.

The prospect of a total ban on the trade in ivory re-emerged this week after foreign secretary Boris Johnson said the government has “a commitment to an all-out ban on the sale of ivory in this country, and that is what we intend to pursue”.

Hong Kong’s bill to ban the domestic ivory trade does allow for the trade in antiques containing ivory, it has emerged.

A large high street chain in the US has been fined $3m in connection with the purchase and importing of a large number of ancient Iraqi artefacts.