Law, crime and regulation

The art and antiques trade has raised fears that the launch of a new government money laundering watchdog will lead to further red tape for dealers and auctioneers in the UK.

Stoke-on-Trent’s Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is hopeful of raising nearly half a million pounds to buy a Wedgwood First Day’s vase after it was awarded a £90,000 grant from the Art Fund.

A government u-turn on a National Insurance rise has been welcomed by the art and antiques trade, giving hope that a review of business rates could follow.

A report out today (March 14) calls for "significant structural changes" to the laws governing the sale of ivory in the UK but trade bodies have queried its methodology, citing low response rates.

A Lancashire art and antiques dealership is appealing for help to track down a stolen antique Russian drinking vessel.

Some small businesses have been given a reprieve in the Budget today from the planned hike in business rates.

Egypt’s former antiquities minister Mamdouh al-Damaty has called for a change of policy relating to Egyptian artefacts traded abroad.

A police ordeal for a Derbyshire antiques dealer following a “draconian” swoop over a Victorian ivory thermometer has finally been resolved.

The chief executive of BADA, Marco Forgione, has lobbied Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on imminent hikes to business rates and changes to tax reporting that are set to impact the trade.

The ninth annual LAPADA Conference opened yesterday with a sobering reminder to dealers that they could fall victim to cybercrime.

British banks have warned UK dealers and auctioneers trading in Persian works of art that their accounts could be closed amid US sanctions against Iran.

A new art advisory group has been formed to help ease the pitfalls of buying and selling art and antiques.

The UK government has passed the third reading of the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill, opposing amendments called for by the art and antiques trade.

Thousands of privately-owned works have become easier to access than ever before on a website launched by the Open Inheritance Art project.

Police are appealing for information after a painting by British artist Mary Potter was stolen at a recent fair in London.

A group of historians, museums and TV presenters including Alan Titchmarsh and David Starkey have condemned the slaughter of elephants but have argued the case for the defence of the antiques trade.