Law, crime and regulation

An appeal for a shorter sentence launched by a conman who scammed dealers at fairs across the country has been dismissed.

An antiques dealer who forged signatures of famous people such as Winston Churchill and Robert Louis Stevenson has been told he will have to sell his house to pay back more than £33,000 he took in through the scam.

This sixth issue Elizabeth I sovereign (1584-1586) was among seven English 16th and 17th century gold coins stolen from a dealer’s home in Norfolk in August.

A West London auction house is facing court, charged with the sale of a modern elephant ivory carving under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) (CITES) Regulations 1997.

Stronger sanctions against museums that sell off items from their collections donated by the public are being considered.

If Scotland votes for independence on September 18, how might this affect the ownership of art North and South of the Border?

Details have emerged of a theft of a significant collection of British pocket watches from a property in London earlier this year.

Auction houses who refund VAT on the buyer’s premium to overseas purchasers without ensuring that the correct paperwork is in place could find themselves liable for the tax themselves.

The Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office want to help more UK provincial auctioneers spot fakes by inviting them to their Fakes and Forgeries seminars at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London.

In the wake of calls for the destruction of antique ivory, The Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit is asking Londoners to bring in ‘family heirlooms’ made from elephant ivory and other endangered species.

Book dealers have been urged to be on the lookout after a second edition of the King James Bible from 1614 was stolen from a Berkshire church.

Gibraltar expects to become a new European Union tax haven for the trade in art by scrapping import and export duties on works from July 1.

New York is a step closer to adopting new restrictions on ivory after the State Assembly passed the bill to bar nearly all sales of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn.

An antiques dealer from China has become the latest person to be jailed over rhino horn and elephant ivory smuggling as the US continues its crackdown.

Following the implosion of auction house Ivey-Selkirk earlier this year, more than one firm is hoping to plug the void left by the troubled St Louis institution.

Legislation designed to protect art authenticators from lengthy and expensive legal claims has been proposed in New York.

Changes to joint bidding rules under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 clarify the obligations to be met.

COMMENT - As a relentless campaigner against the Artist’s Resale Right, IVAN MACQUISTEN explains why the trade should not avoid paying it now

Thieves who target cultural property or items of great sentimental value could be hit with tougher sentences under official new proposals.

The Arts Council and other museum authorities have drawn up new guidelines for councils thinking of selling off artworks to raise funds amid sharp budget cuts.