Art crime

No confidence vote against Italian junior culture minister postponed

Vittorio Sgarbi is being investigated for allegedly laundering an Old Master painting

Italian politicians call on government to sack minister involved in art theft case

Vittorio Sgarbi has been accused of laundering a stolen 17th-century painting attributed to Rutilio Manetti

Caught red-handed: climate activist pleads guilty to defacing Degas exhibit at National Gallery of Art

Joanna Smith faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine

Review into British Museum thefts calls for fundamental reforms

The Independent Collection Security Review urges the museum to take urgent action, including fully recording the collection and tough management changes

Podcastsreview

Richly detailed crime podcast captures with verve the ‘grubby underbelly’ of the art and antiquities trade

The Professor: Hunting for the Mafia's Missing Masterpiece follows English antiquities and ancient coins dealer William Veres as he attempts to solve the theft of a work by Caravaggio

Dealer and furniture expert to go on trial as part of longstanding investigation into forged French furniture

The trial is expected to offer unprecedented insights into the inner workings of the antique furniture market that once took pride of place at Paris's Biennale des Antiquaires

Antiquities trafficking charges upheld against former Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez

French high court rejects Martinez's appeal but drops charges against curator Jean-François Charnier in Egyptian antiquities investigation

British Museum releases further details of independent review into thefts

The review team will now liaise with the police for the criminal investigation

California police officer took bribes from Colombian art dealer for years in exchange for immigration help

A former police officer in California has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes over the course of seven years from an unnamed Colombian gallerist

Alleged head of Egyptian antiquities trafficking ring arrested in Paris

Serop Simonian was arrested in his hometown of Hamburg and transferred to France

Dmitry Rybolovlev’s former attorney, France's justice minister Eric Dupont-Moretti, faces trial next month

The former defence attorney is accused of using his position to settle scores, including against a judge who investigated the Russian oligarch in Monaco.

Man pleads guilty to stealing original Wizard of Oz ruby slippers from Judy Garland museum

The film-famous footwear disappeared from a museum in the actress's Minnesota childhood home in 2005

Looted antiquities worth $19m returned to Italian authorities in New York

Some of the 19 artefacts handed over by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office had ties to notorious traffickers

Seattle man sentenced to two years of probation for selling fake Native American art

Lewis Anthony Rath had pleaded guilty to selling fake San Carlos Apache art at Seattle retail stores

Former German museum worker sentenced to prison for stealing and selling paintings

He replaced a painting by Franz von Stuck with a forgery and sold the original

Ex-dealer Robert Newland sentenced to nearly two years in prison for role in Inigo Philbrick’s art frauds

"He did his job, but his job turned out to be assisting a criminal fraud," a New York district court judge said

Recovering the stolen Van Gogh: the museum director recalls the emotional moment

Seized in a violent raid in 2020, returned in a blue Ikea bag—now being bought back from the insurer

Washington State man sentenced to two years in prison for passing off more than $1m worth of fakes as Alaska Native art

He even hired Alaska Natives as clerks in his stores as part of the ruse, and will serve the longest sentence on record for violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act

Hundreds of works from Los Angeles's infamous Ace Gallery to be liquidated via online auction

At least $230,000 worth of art and ephemera is being offered to repay creditors in the gallery's 2013 bankruptcy

Parthenon Marbles deal still on the table despite British Museum theft scandal

Other Greek treasures would come to London in exchange for a loan of the contested sculptures

British Museum director Hartwig Fischer steps down with immediate effect

Fischer, who was set to leave his position next year, made the decision to go now amid the scandal surrounding the theft of objects from the museum's collection

‘I viewed the morning with alarm. The British Museum had lost its charm’

The crisis at the museum raises many questions, including who can take the institution forward from here

Eye-opening filings in Lisa Schiff lawsuit reveal dozens of new claims and more than 100 missing works

The embattled art adviser is facing two lawsuits accusing her of running a "Ponzi scheme" and defrauding her clients

'More than 1,500' artefacts were stolen from British Museum, internal investigation reportedly reveals

A Unesco antiquities trafficking expert says the theft is "probably the worst case so far"

Auctioneer, who admitted he helped make fake Basquiats seized by the FBI, avoids jail time

Michael Barzman will pay a fine, do community service and be on probation for his role in the forgery scandal

Thefts at the British Museum prompted director’s resignation, say media reports

But Hartwig Fischer stepping down is not linked to the alleged thefts, say fresh sources

Media reports identify objects allegedly stolen from British Museum and posted on eBay

The items include a piece of Roman jewellery—reportedly worth between £25,000 and £50,000—being offered with a minimum price of £40