Law, crime and regulation

A pensioner thief has been sentenced to eight months' imprisonment after a series of art thefts.

Shop owners in London and the south of England are facing a significant increase in business rates when bills arrive in April.

The debate over the trade in antiques containing ivory reached Radio 4 last week. BBC Radio 4's daily consumer programme 'You & Yours' featured a slot on the topic with both wildlife charities and the antiques trade represented.

The antiquarian book trade has suffered one of its biggest-ever thefts after an audacious robbery in west London.

An oil painting by Parmigianino has been barred from export in the hope £24.5m can be raised to keep it in the UK.

Three paintings by Shaun Greenhalgh, the faker who was sentenced to four years in prison in 2007, are being offered at Bolton Auction Rooms later this month.

The government remains open-minded on proposals to extend its planned ban on trade in post-1947 ivory to antiques with ivory dating before this time, despite pressure from some MPs to do so.

A handful of MPs stood up for the antiques trade in a debate on the UK domestic ivory market in parliament yesterday, calling for antiques to be exempt from any ivory ban.

Sotheby’s has begun legal action against dealer Mark Weiss over the sale of a Frans Hals painting that it now believes to be “undoubtedly a forgery”. However Weiss said he will "contest the claim vigorously".

A parliamentary debate is to be held this afternoon in the House of Commons' Westminster Hall ahead of the launch of a government consultation.

Art dealers, lawyers and consultants have launched a new code of conduct to try to improve the image of the art market in Geneva.

A man from Sunderland who forged the work of local artist Norman Cornish (1919-2014) was jailed for three years and seven months last week.

A judge has ruled that the New York art dealer involved in the $80m forgery scandal that brought down the Knoedler gallery will not serve further prison time.

A co-defendant of the accused art thief known as 'Spider-Man' told a court room in France he had destroyed five paintings worth more than $100m.

At ATG’s Seminar on CITES, Victoria Borwick MP started the ball rolling on our consultation with the government on ivory in a traditional way – by calling on the trade to write to their local MPs.

The survey that will kick off the government’s consultation into the UK ivory trade is expected to be launched this week, and is open to all to give their views.

Petworth dealer Tony Wilkinson is calling on the trade to help him track down a pair of stolen Regency lustres.

A suspected art smuggling ring has been busted after Europol and police across 18 countries helped seize 3561 works of art and cultural goods.

A man has been charged in connection with the theft of a painting by Welsh modern artist Ceri Richards from Belsize Park gallery Sylvester Fine Art and will be tried later this month.