Law, crime and regulation

New European Union regulations regarding the collection of VAT on digital services mean that eBay will begin collecting VAT on seller fees from July 1.

A rare Joseph Wright of Derby mezzotint valued at £9500 was stolen from prints and maps dealer Sanders of Oxford on June 3. At around 4.00pm two white men entered the shop. Both were in their late 40s, one 5ft 7in high of stocky build with short, dark grey hair, the other slightly taller with balding, brown, short hair.

LAPADA has issued some valuable guidelines to the recipients of cheques relating to the Sotheby’s and Christie’s price-fixing settlement in the USA. As the cheques began to arrive by post last week many were surprised to see that the US Federal Government had deducted a withholding tax from the awards.

A man who had a 17th century Dutch panel painting stolen from his home more than 20 years ago has failed in an Appeal Court to win compensation from Christie’s, who offered the picture for sale in 1997. Key to the test case was Christie’s ability to show they had acted in good faith, adding further legal weight to the importance of due diligence.

LONDON: POLICE are hunting a robber who escaped with two bronzes from a Chelsea shop after a violent struggle with the dealer. The robber, who struck at the Chelminski Gallery in the King’s Road on Wednesday, May 14, is thought to be the same man who has attempted a number of similar raids at shops in the area over the past two years.

NEW Money Laundering Regulations, affecting dealers and auctioneers, are due to be published in the middle of June with the new code enforceable after a grace period of three months.

DUE diligence will effectively become a legal obligation when the Bill aimed at clamping down on the illicit trade in cultural objects becomes law.

DEALERS are being warned to look out for a well-dressed man using stolen cheques to pay for antiques at fairs.

Potential impact on legal trade still not clear: Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has set out a five-point plan for the future protection of cultural objects in the light of the looting in Iraq. Central to the plan is the adoption of MP Richard Allan’s Private Member’s Bill, which failed to proceed in parliament earlier this year.

ART collectors in Italy in possession of illegally acquired antiquities may now be able to come clean to the authorities and keep the works concerned.

PHONE calls to the Antiques Trade Gazette over the past two weeks make it clear that the trade is still being targeted by credit card fraudsters from Indonesia.

A NUMBER of dealers and collectors have contacted the Antiques Trade Gazette about notifications they have received concerning the settlement of claims relating to the Sotheby’s and Christie’s collusion case.

The Illicit Antiquities Research Centre at Cambridge University have set out a list of short- and long-term objectives to help restore works to the museums of Iraq.

AS the antiquities trade brace themselves to cope with the fall-out of the mass looting of artefacts in Iraq, a UK stolen art database takes centre stage once more. Trade organisations in Britain and around the world have acted immediately to ensure members follow guidelines that will prevent any dealing in pieces that may have been looted during the recent Iraq war.

FRENCH auctioneers are trying to build links with the British Art Market Federation to campaign against damaging European Union regulations which are driving business across the Atlantic to the USA.

A JUNE 3 New York court hearing will rule whether Sotheby’s and Christie’s should pay $40m compensation to clients who bought and sold at their auctions outside the US during the 1990s.

You’ve heard of a pain in the arse? Well here’s an arse in the pane! This would-be burglar was caught in the act as he tried to break into the London offices of coin dealers and auctioneers A.H. Baldwin.

Christie’s and Sotheby’s have each agreed to pay $20m (£13m) to clients who bought and sold antiques at auctions held outside America.

A company condemned by the Information Commissioner for misleading businesses into paying unnecessary fees for registering under the Data Protection Act is still targeting antique dealers across the country.

UK: AN educational charity in Derbyshire is offering a substantial reward for information leading to the safe return of the mechanism and dial of a longcase clock.