Hatton Garden Raider's Loot Buried In Cemetery
The jewel thief wrote to Sky News claiming police were ignoring his offer to show them where he hid his share of the haul.
One of the Hatton Garden raiders has been
taken from prison under armed guard to show detectives where he buried
his share of the loot in a cemetery.
Danny Jones, 58, had complained in a letter to Sky News that his offer to reveal the hiding place had been ignored by Scotland Yard.At midday on Thursday an armed convoy, with a police helicopter flying above it, took him from Belmarsh prison to a north London cemetery when he showed them where to dig.
Jones has admitted his part in the £20m heist
Jones' solicitor was present to witness the operation and police took photographs which may form part of the evidence against him.
I understand that stolen properly was recovered and taken away in several boxes.
In a letter from his prison cell before the excavation, Jones told me: "I've instructed my solicitor to tell the police Flying Squad that I want to give back my share of the Hatton Garden burglary. They said it's in motion.
"I now understand that the police said that the prison Belmarsh won't release me to the police. What a load of bull.
"The police can't want it back, as I'm the only person in the world to know where it is deep down. I want to do the right thing and give it back."
He added: "If I don't get the chance to go out under armed escort, I hope some poor sod who's having it hard out there with his or her family find the lot and have a nice life, as you never know, Martin, people do find things, don't they?"
Jones is one of four men who have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit centre in London over the Easter weekend. Five others pleaded not guilty and are to stand trial next month.
A gang were let into the premises, then drilled through the vault wall before ransacking more than 70 boxes of jewellery, gems and cash.
Police originally said £10m worth of property had been stolen, then revised the figure to £20m.
In a court hearing last week prosecutor Philip Evans said police had just recovered a significant amount of property, but there were still many millions missing.
Hatton Garden Raider: I'll Show Where Loot Is
A man who admits taking part in the £20m jewel heist offers to reveal where he hid his share of the haul in a letter to Sky News
He fears if he is not allowed to reveal where he hid the haul, someone else might find it.
Jones wrote to me in a letter from his prison cell: "I've instructed my solicitor...to tell the police Flying Squad that I want to give back my share of (the) Hatton Garden burglary, they said it's in motion.
"I now understand that the police said that the prison Belmarsh won't release me to the police. What a load of bull.
"The police can't want it back, as I'm the only person in the world to no (know) where it is, deep down. I want to do the right thing and give it back."
Jones is one of four men who have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden safe deposit centre in London over the Easter bank holiday weekend. They are awaiting sentence.
Five others have denied involvement and are to stand trial next month.
Four others are accused of money laundering and have yet to enter pleas.
This week a pre-trial hearing heard that police now believed that up to £20m worth of jewellery, gems and cash was stolen in the raid and "a significant amount" had still not been recovered.
Previously they said the haul was "in excess of £10m".
Jones wrote: "They are trying to make me look a bad person.
"I'm trying my best to put things right and for some reason they don't want me to give it back.
"If I don't get the chance to go out under armed escort, I hope some poor sod who's having it hard out there with his or her family find the lot and have a nice life, as you never know, Martin, people do find things, don't they?"
Prisoners are allowed to be taken from their cells to help police investigations, but under strict rules and security.
Jones is held in the high-risk wing of Belmarsh jail and subject to more restrictions than most prisoners, but other high-profile inmates have been taken out briefly for a variety of reasons.
He wrote: "You would have thought the police would have jumped with joy, but for some reason which I don't know, they are not that interested.
"They took that sex killer Levi Belfour (Bellfield) a few years ago, he showed the police where he killed those women.
"So, there you go, Martin, a sex killer and there's me, a 58-year-old burnt-out burglar. Maybe they think I'm going to get (a) hit squad to get me out, my God how stupid."
In a second letter, three weeks later, Jones wrote: "I haven't heard from the police concerning the stuff I want to give back.
"I'm just waiting for the police to take me out giving them back part of the stolen goods.
"They won't let me know if they (are) coming to take me out. Security reasons.
"They better hurry up, we don't want anyone finding it, do we?"
The Ministry of Justice said the issue was one for Scotland Yard to answer.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are not prepared to discuss an ongoing investigation."
Update:
The development emerged at a bail hearing for plumber Hugh Doyle, one of the 13 defendants charged over the heist at the safe deposit centre in London.
Prosecutor Philip Evans told Woolwich Crown Court: "Earlier this week officers investigating the crime recovered a significant amount of additional stolen property.
"But there remains many millions of pounds of jewellery still outstanding. A very significant quantity of stolen property remains outstanding."
Originally police estimated the value of the stolen jewellery, gems and cash at £10m, but earlier the week Mr Evans said it was now thought to be between £15m and £20m.
Mr Doyle, 48, is one of five men who are to stand trial next month after denying charges of conspiracy to burgle and disposing of stolen goods.
He was refused bail.
Four other men have admitted burglary and are awaiting sentence.
Four more defendants have been charged with handling stolen property but have yet to enter pleas.
One of the Hatton Garden raiders claims police have ignored his offer to show them where he has hidden his share of the loot.
Danny Jones, 58, has admitted his part in the £20m heist and
says he wants to be taken out of his high security jail to hand back
what he stole.He fears if he is not allowed to reveal where he hid the haul, someone else might find it.
Jones wrote to me in a letter from his prison cell: "I've instructed my solicitor...to tell the police Flying Squad that I want to give back my share of (the) Hatton Garden burglary, they said it's in motion.
"I now understand that the police said that the prison Belmarsh won't release me to the police. What a load of bull.
"The police can't want it back, as I'm the only person in the world to no (know) where it is, deep down. I want to do the right thing and give it back."
Jones is one of four men who have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden safe deposit centre in London over the Easter bank holiday weekend. They are awaiting sentence.
Five others have denied involvement and are to stand trial next month.
Four others are accused of money laundering and have yet to enter pleas.
This week a pre-trial hearing heard that police now believed that up to £20m worth of jewellery, gems and cash was stolen in the raid and "a significant amount" had still not been recovered.
Previously they said the haul was "in excess of £10m".
Jones wrote: "They are trying to make me look a bad person.
"I'm trying my best to put things right and for some reason they don't want me to give it back.
"If I don't get the chance to go out under armed escort, I hope some poor sod who's having it hard out there with his or her family find the lot and have a nice life, as you never know, Martin, people do find things, don't they?"
Prisoners are allowed to be taken from their cells to help police investigations, but under strict rules and security.
Jones is held in the high-risk wing of Belmarsh jail and subject to more restrictions than most prisoners, but other high-profile inmates have been taken out briefly for a variety of reasons.
He wrote: "You would have thought the police would have jumped with joy, but for some reason which I don't know, they are not that interested.
"They took that sex killer Levi Belfour (Bellfield) a few years ago, he showed the police where he killed those women.
"So, there you go, Martin, a sex killer and there's me, a 58-year-old burnt-out burglar. Maybe they think I'm going to get (a) hit squad to get me out, my God how stupid."
In a second letter, three weeks later, Jones wrote: "I haven't heard from the police concerning the stuff I want to give back.
"I'm just waiting for the police to take me out giving them back part of the stolen goods.
"They won't let me know if they (are) coming to take me out. Security reasons.
"They better hurry up, we don't want anyone finding it, do we?"
The Ministry of Justice said the issue was one for Scotland Yard to answer.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are not prepared to discuss an ongoing investigation."
Update:
More Loot From Hatton Garden Raid Recovered
A court hears detectives have found more
of the stolen jewellery from the central London raid but "many
millions" remain missing.
Detectives have recovered more of the stolen jewellery from the £20m Hatton Garden raid.
But there are still "many millions" missing, a judge was told.The development emerged at a bail hearing for plumber Hugh Doyle, one of the 13 defendants charged over the heist at the safe deposit centre in London.
Prosecutor Philip Evans told Woolwich Crown Court: "Earlier this week officers investigating the crime recovered a significant amount of additional stolen property.
"But there remains many millions of pounds of jewellery still outstanding. A very significant quantity of stolen property remains outstanding."
Originally police estimated the value of the stolen jewellery, gems and cash at £10m, but earlier the week Mr Evans said it was now thought to be between £15m and £20m.
Mr Doyle, 48, is one of five men who are to stand trial next month after denying charges of conspiracy to burgle and disposing of stolen goods.
He was refused bail.
Four other men have admitted burglary and are awaiting sentence.
Four more defendants have been charged with handling stolen property but have yet to enter pleas.
U.S. offers $5 million reward to stop Islamic State from stealing antiques
The State Department announced the effort, known as the “Reward for Justice” program at an event at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. The department will work with other nations to ensure the extremist group does not erase Iraq and Syria’s rich cultural history.
Last month the FBI issued a warning urging art dealers in the U.S. to take extra precautions when buying artifacts from the Middle East, citing evidence that collectors may have been offered stolen antiques plundered by the terrorist group.
The militants have used the money form sales of stolen antiquities to fund terrorist activities.
In June, the House passed a bill to stop the militants from profiting off the sale of stolen artifacts. The bill would give the Obama administration the authority to impose import restrictions on antiquities coming in from Syria. The bill is still awaiting a vote in the Senate.
The stolen antiques have been dubbed “blood antiques,” adapted from the term “blood diamonds” used to refer to gems that financed fighters in African wars from Angola to Sierra Leone.
Gardaí probing theft of art from stately home's collection
More than €500,000 worth of historical artefacts have been stolen from a stately home's collection.
Some 39 items, including 26 paintings, were found to have been taken from the Killarney House collection.
Seamus McCarthy, the Comptroller & Auditor General, revealed gardaí were investigating the disappearance of the artefacts.
A wider review found that 173 items on loan from the State art collection to locations around the country had also gone missing.
Killarney House in Co Kerry was once home to the Earl of Kenmare and hosted Queen Victoria in 1861.
It
has been in State ownership since 1978 and is currently undergoing an
€8.5m restoration, with the house and gardens due to open next year.
The
contents of the house, including 81 artworks valued at €920,000, were
catalogued and placed in storage in 1999 pending the restoration work.
According
to Mr McCarthy, the loss of a number of items was discovered in October
2012 after two paintings appeared at an auction and were recognised by
staff from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Each painting was valued at around €32,000.
It was subsequently discovered that 39 items were missing, with a combined value of €520,000.
Mr
McCarthy said a Garda investigation had been ongoing for three years.
It is unclear if any of the missing art has been recovered.
Top Nazi’s vast collection of stolen art revealed
PARIS — France’s World War II archives have helped produce an unusual art book: a catalog of more than 1,000 paintings, tapestries and sculptures amassed by senior Nazi official Hermann Goering — many of them stolen from Jews deported to death camps.It’s an effort to remind modern readers of Nazi crimes, as the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles and European far right groups are stirring up nationalist sentiment. The publication Wednesday could also revive efforts to return artworks stolen by the Nazis to Jewish families.
A portrait by Goya and a landscape by Sisley are among 1,376 works by Italian, Dutch, French and German masters that adorned Goering’s home in Carinhall near Berlin.
It also includes Goering’s carefully maintained ledger, with handwritten comments about the quality of the work and notes from Nazi officials about where they were taken and when. The ledger was among documents seized by French forces from Germany at the end of the war, according to the French Foreign Ministry.
With guidance from art historians, Goering gathered a museum-worthy collection spanning leading genres of Western European art. He repeatedly visited occupied Paris, a prominent global art market, during the war.
At the end of the war, some of the works were found by American troops, and the French government worked to recover artworks pillaged from France. Many works were restored to Jewish families, but others remain in government collections, their original owners never found.
Historian Jean-Marc Dreyfus, who compiled the catalog, is now resuscitating efforts to restore the artworks to their owners.
Fabius described the collection as “an odious hunting trophy.”
The Billionaire, the Picassos and a $30 Million Gift to Shame a Middleman
MONACO
— In what appears at first glance to be a simple, magnanimous act, a
Russian billionaire is poised this week to return two Picassos, valued
at $30 million, to the artist’s stepdaughter, who says the works, both
portraits of her mother — Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s second wife — were stolen from her.
The
businessman, Dmitry E. Rybolovlev, owner of one of the world’s most
valuable art collections, said in an interview last week that he bought
the works in good faith in 2013, without any hint that there was a
question about their title.
“I
feel solidarity with her, especially because there is a strong
emotional link between the portraits of her and her mother,” Mr.
Rybolovlev said in the interview from his penthouse apartment here
overlooking the Mediterranean.
But
Mr. Rybolovlev’s decision is much more than just a chivalrous,
expensive gesture. The man from whom he bought the portraits, Yves
Bouvier, is also Mr. Rybolovlev’s adversary in what has become perhaps
the largest feud in the art world today. And by returning the art in
such a public fashion, he is drawing attention to their broader fight.
For
the past year, Mr. Rybolovlev has been battling Mr. Bouvier in
courtrooms in Paris, Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong in a dispute that
has shed light on some of the murkier corners of the international art
market. He has accused Mr. Bouvier, who helped him amass his collection,
of fraud by overcharging him as much as $1 billion for multiple pieces
of art.
Karen Boyer, a New York art adviser, said the dispute was “being watched pretty widely.”
“A movie could be made out of it,” she added.
The
feud began last year, Mr. Rybolovlev said, when by chance he met an art
adviser over lunch during a Caribbean vacation and discovered that — in
a purchase arranged by Mr. Bouvier — he had paid $118 million for a
Modigliani painting that a hedge fund billionaire, Steven A. Cohen, had
sold for only $93.5 million.
Now,
by returning the Picassos as planned in Paris on Thursday, Mr.
Rybolovlev is supporting Picasso’s stepdaughter, Catherine Hutin-Blay,
whose theft claim is being investigated by French officials.
But
Mr. Bouvier complains he is being unfairly attacked by an art-world
insider who understands the rules completely. He says he believed he had
legally purchased the Picasso works, and their return, he said, is
being staged only to embarrass him.
“It’s
a pure media show,” said Mr. Bouvier, 52, who nonetheless was ordered
by the French court to deposit the price of the portraits while the
inquiry progresses.
Though
it is his work as an art dealer and adviser that has drawn fire from
Mr. Rybolovlev, Mr. Bouvier, a Swiss businessman, is better known as a
man who runs an expanding network of freeports, the largely tax-free
storage depots where wealthy collectors now store so many of their
treasures.
The
dispute would be noteworthy if it were only a clash of giant egos. But
Mr. Rybolovlev says his goal is larger. Sitting in his Monte Carlo home,
Mr. Rybolovlev, a trim, reserved man of 48, announced with clinical
detachment his hope of focusing attention on the often opaque nature of
transactions in the art market, where buyers often do not know the
identity of sellers.
“If the market were more transparent, these things wouldn’t happen,” he said.
The
two men met in 2003, when Mr. Bouvier began helping Mr. Rybolovlev with
his collection. Trained as a physician, Mr. Rybolovlev made his fortune
in the production and export of potash fertilizer after the collapse of
the Soviet Union. Forbes currently estimates his worth at more than $8
billion. Through family trusts, he has bought a Greek island, Monaco’s
soccer team and real estate around the world, including Donald Trump’s
former oceanfront home in Florida.
He
has also spent nearly $2 billion on art, relying often on Mr. Bouvier’s
contacts to obtain works by El Greco, van Gogh, Matisse and others.
Mr.
Bouvier is known as the “king of the freeports” because he is the main
operator or lead private investor in three of the half-dozen or so major
freeports that are known to specialize in art. His private
transportation company and high-tech warehouses in Switzerland,
Luxembourg and Singapore draw business from wealthy collectors who want
to store and trade their possessions privately with tax advantages.
In
these roles, he circulates on the global art circuit, building a
network of contacts that he puts to work for his art-buying clients,
like Mr. Rybolovlev, who was his biggest. “That is the way of the art
market,” said Mr. Bouvier, a wiry man who wore sneakers to an interview
at a Geneva steakhouse. “It’s a hunt for information.” And those who
collect it, he said, expect to be paid.
Larry
Gagosian, the New York art dealer, is among those who question whether
Mr. Bouvier should be both storing and selling art since running a
warehouse gives him privileged information about collectors’ art
holdings.
“I’d
consider it a terrible conflict of interest and would never keep art
long term in the warehouse of a dealer,” Mr. Gagosian said.
Mr.
Rybolovlev acknowledges, though, that he had full confidence in Mr.
Bouvier during a period when, by his account, they spent much time
together on his private Greek island or in the soccer stands at Monaco.
Though
Mr. Bouvier acknowledges socializing with Mr. Rybolovlev, he says the
two were not close. “I never spoke to him directly for more than two
minutes on the ski lift,” said Mr. Bouvier, who noted that they
communicated through translators because the Russian businessman spoke
little French or English.
Everyone
agrees their relationship suddenly soured late last year as they argued
over payments and disputed the terms under which they were doing
business. Mr. Rybolovlev says he had believed Mr. Bouvier was acting as
his intermediary in their transactions, negotiating the best price and
taking a 2 percent fee, based on the purchase price.
In
emails to the Russian’s adviser, Mr. Bouvier appeared to portray
himself as negotiating hard terms or, in one example, urging Mr.
Rybolovlev to make a speedy purchase because “the seller is very old and
has a heart condition.” Mr. Bouvier, though, said it was always clear
that he was operating as an independent seller who could buy the art and
resell on his own terms and charge Mr. Rybolovlev what the market would
bear.
Last
January, Mr. Rybolovlev filed a criminal complaint in Monaco, asserting
that his trusted adviser had been secretly marking up the works that he
obtained on the collector’s behalf. Mr. Bouvier was arrested but
released on bail, and the case is still unresolved.
Mr. Rybolovlev also went to court in Singapore, where Mr. Bouvier lives, to freeze $1.1 billion of Mr. Bouvier’s assets. But a court there lifted the freeze.
“It
is at least doubtful, even if not wholly incredible, that the
respondents genuinely believed that the remuneration for Mr. Bouvier’s
services was limited to the 2 percent fee that the respondents plainly
knew they were paying him,” the judge in the case wrote.
Their
latest skirmish involves the two portraits of Roque, who committed
suicide in 1986. In testimony to French investigators earlier this year,
Ms. Hutin-Blay, 67, said she had entrusted the gouache portraits of her
mother and other works to a business partner of Mr. Bouvier’s to store
for her in a vault outside Paris.
Several
years later, she said, an art restorer who worked for Mr. Bouvier’s
company in the Geneva Freeport, told her that the painting had been
brought there, restored and sold to Mr. Rybolovlev.
In March, Ms. Hutin-Blay filed a legal complaint asserting that her property had been stolen.
For
his part, Mr. Bouvier said that while he never met Ms. Hutin-Blay, he
had believed intermediaries were representing her in the sale. Documents
show he wired $8 million for the Picasso portraits in 2010 to the
Nobilo Trust, of which, he said, he believed she was a beneficiary.
“I
am not crazy,” he said. “I’m not going to sell stolen art to someone
who has bought 2 billion in art from me. He was my biggest client. I am
not a fool.”
But
Ms. Hutin-Blay’s lawyer in Paris, Anne-Sophie Nardon, said that Ms.
Hutin-Blay had never authorized the sale of the paintings or received
the money. She declined further comment and would not discuss whether
Ms. Hutin-Blay did have a relationship to the Nobilo Trust.
After
they turn over the paintings on Thursday to Ms. Hutin-Blay’s lawyer,
Mr. Rybolovlev’s representatives said, they expect French police
investigators to take custody of them to authenticate the paintings and
await the outcome of the judicial proceedings. But he said he was taking
this step now because “I understand her emotional state.”
“It was a personal act of betrayal,” he said.
Mr.
Bouvier’s French lawyer, Ron Soffer, pointed out that Mr. Bouvier had
not been charged with a crime. Mr. Bouvier himself seemed unbowed during
the interview last week, as he rummaged through a shopping bag full of
documents that he said showed how unfair it was to suggest he had sold
Mr. Rybolovlev stolen Picassos.
“Just till now, I have been a gentleman,” he said. “But from now on, I am the resistance and I will reveal the truth.”
Irish National Extradited on Rhino Horn Charges
Patrick Sheridan was arrested in the United Kingdom in
January after a request by the United States. The federal government
sought Sheridan's extradition over his alleged role in trafficking black
rhinoceros horns, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of
Justice.
A Waco, Texas, federal grand jury indicted Sheridan and a co-defendant last year on charges they conspired to buy and sell the rhinoceros horns and on violations of the Lacey Act. Sheridan, the co-defendant and Michael Slattery Jr. bought the horns from a Texas taxidermist and then sold them in New York, according to the indictment.
Slattery pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. He was described by the Justice Department as a member of The Rathkeale Rovers.
Also known as Irish Travelers, Europol says this nomadic, tight-knit extended family group has been involved in an epidemic of raids on museums in Europe involving the theft of rhinoceros horns. The group allegedly leverages the rising price for rhinoceros horns on the black market to be used for traditional medicines and carving.
Slattery admitted that he traveled within the United States between May 2010 and April 2011 to purchase rhinoceros horns, and then resold them to private individuals or consigned them to auction houses in the United States.
Sheridan and his unnamed co-defendant are also charged with making a fraudulent bill of sale in an attempt to make their purchase of the rhinoceros horns appear legal. Sheridan appeared in Federal Court on Monday and his arraignment and detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday, the government said.
If convicted, Sheridan and the co-defendant face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
"Rhino horn trafficking is having a devastating effect on the rhino and the allegations facing this individual are just the type of illegal behavior that is fueling an international market for horns. We must stop it in its tracks," John Cruden, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement Tuesday.
A Waco, Texas, federal grand jury indicted Sheridan and a co-defendant last year on charges they conspired to buy and sell the rhinoceros horns and on violations of the Lacey Act. Sheridan, the co-defendant and Michael Slattery Jr. bought the horns from a Texas taxidermist and then sold them in New York, according to the indictment.
Slattery pleaded guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. He was described by the Justice Department as a member of The Rathkeale Rovers.
Also known as Irish Travelers, Europol says this nomadic, tight-knit extended family group has been involved in an epidemic of raids on museums in Europe involving the theft of rhinoceros horns. The group allegedly leverages the rising price for rhinoceros horns on the black market to be used for traditional medicines and carving.
Slattery admitted that he traveled within the United States between May 2010 and April 2011 to purchase rhinoceros horns, and then resold them to private individuals or consigned them to auction houses in the United States.
Sheridan and his unnamed co-defendant are also charged with making a fraudulent bill of sale in an attempt to make their purchase of the rhinoceros horns appear legal. Sheridan appeared in Federal Court on Monday and his arraignment and detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday, the government said.
If convicted, Sheridan and the co-defendant face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
"Rhino horn trafficking is having a devastating effect on the rhino and the allegations facing this individual are just the type of illegal behavior that is fueling an international market for horns. We must stop it in its tracks," John Cruden, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement Tuesday.
9 Things You Didn’t Know About Art Theft
How much do you know about stolen art? Theft and forgery in the world of art is actually big business. Read our article to find out nine things you didn't know about art theft.
Art theft and forgery
is big business. In actual fact, as reported by the Telegraph newspaper on art crime news and also shown in Printerinks' latest interactive art data
graphic on Theft and Forgery in the World of Art, art-related crimes in places like the
United Kingdom total an average of over 300 million pounds annually, with six
to eight billion dollars’ worth of art stolen (or forged) worldwide each year.
So what happens to a
piece of art when it’s stolen? It’s estimated that only five to ten percent of
stolen artworks are ever recovered, and many great masterpieces (such as those
stolen by the Nazis during World War II) have never resurfaced again.
Some stolen artworks journey the world over and over. The interactive graphic
shows the journey of stolen paintings, and lists some of the most
audacious and memorable art heists in world history. You’ll also find
out about some of the most infamous forgers in history, many of whom
managed to fool museums and private collectors for decades. Here are
nine things you may not have known:
Most art is stolen from private homes
When
people think of art theft, they often think of museums, but 52 percent
of stolen artwork disappears from the homes of private collectors, while
another eight percent is stolen from places of worship. 95 percent of
this stolen art never returns to its country of origin.
A total of 50,000 to 100,000 works of art are taken by art thieves each year
40 percent of all art thefts take place within the United Kingdom, while 19 percent of art thefts occur in the United States.
The United States and the UK each employ an “Art Crime Team”
In
2004, the FBI established a team of special agents responsible for
investigating art theft and forgery cases. To date, the team has
recovered more than 2,600 items, worth over $150 million. The U.S. Art
Crime Team consists of 16 people, one for every 21 million people in the
country, whereas the United Kingdom’s team employs only two full-time
agents and one part-time agent.
Michelangelo is among the world’s most famous forgers
Renowned
artist Michelangelo used to make copies of major works, age them
artificially, and secretly swap them for the originals. The most
prolific forger of art was Mark Landis, a diagnosed schizophrenic born
in 1955 who tricked over 60 museums into believing his replicas were
authentic.
A family now famous for their art forgeries lived in abject poverty
The
British Greenhalgh family produced forgeries worth up to 11 million
dollars between 1989 and 2006. Despite the value of their forgeries,
they lived frugally and laundered most of the money. They were
eventually sentenced to four years in prison by Scotland Yard.
The largest art heist in United States history ended in no arrests
Over
500 million dollars in art, including five Degas and three Rembrandts,
was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. No arrests
were ever made, and there is an outstanding five million dollars reward
for information on the case.
One of the most famous art heists in history took place in broad daylight
Stéphane Breitweiser was given only 26 months for stealing over two hundred works of art
Over
a period of six years, Breitweiser admitted to stealing artwork from
museums all across Europe. The stolen works were valued at over a
billion dollars, and only about half were ever recovered.
Buyers can take steps to protect themselves against forged or stolen art
Obtaining
a certificate of authenticity or using digital authentication
techniques, a buyer can prevent themselves from being defrauded. Buyers
can also detect forgeries by familiarizing themselves with the artist
and understanding their techniques and subject matter.
Police arrested the robbers, who stole the 73-year-old Muscovite service fabergé and his sword
Moscow police detained three accomplices in the robbery, during which the pensioner was stolen antique dinnerware, made world-famous jewelry house fabergé.
On Thursday simultaneously in two locations, the staff of the 18th division of the Moscow criminal investigation Department detained the two suspects are 30-year and 50-year-old residents of Moscow, reports the official website of the Ministry of internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
One of the detainees had been convicted for committing robberies. Later in his apartment and found the stolen property.
And on Friday around noon at the intersection of Nametkin and Union operatives together with the crew of the traffic police and employees of private security GU MVD detained the third suspect is 45-year-old Muscovite.
The investigation began on August 27, when the police asked the 73-year-old resident of the capital, a statement about the robbery. He said that when he heard the doorbell, opened the front door. Immediately after that, his apartment was raided by four intruders in masks.
«Threatening with a knife to the victim and his cousin, the robbers tied them up with duct tape, cracked the safe and took money, jewelry and personal belongings worth about three million rubles,» — said in a press release.
In addition, criminals have stolen Antiques: tea set, Faberge, silver service of the XVIII century, a sword and a pistol, inlaid with precious stones and silver, and antique paintings. The exact cost of the Antiques are difficult to determine, approximately several tens of millions of rubles, reports «Interfax».
In fact the incident a criminal case under item 162 of the criminal code («Robbery»).
Antique cups and saucers stolen from Osterley Park House
Two 300-year-old cups with saucers have been stolen from a country house.
The
antiques, valued at between £2,000 and £3,000, were taken from Osterley
Park House in Twickenham, south-west London, on 16 July.They were taken from a locked cabinet in a room that was closed to the public due to a wedding at the house.
The pieces have images of Russian ruler Catherine the Great and Prussian king Frederick William II, and were made between 1770 and 1775.
The cups and saucers, which are made of Berlin porcelain, are described as dark blue and painted 'en grisaille' with heavy gilding, flower sprays, finials and branch handles.
Det Con Ray Swan, from the Mets Art's and Antiques Unit, said: "The cups and saucers are of significant historical value, we believe that whoever took them specifically targeted these pieces.
"We would urge anyone who may know of their whereabouts to come forward as they may hold vital information to help us catch whoever was responsible for this burglary.
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