julian radcliffe reducing theft and avoiding fakes 10 th april 2013
TRANSCRIPT
NEGOTIATIONS UNDER DURESS
Public Policy Principles
• No negotiations unless police approved• No ransoms to thieves• Minimise payment to informers/middlemen• Maximise
intelligence/convictions/recoveries• Payments to good faith buyers may be
significant
50%
Value of Objects
Amount Paid For Surrender/ Settlement
5%
100%
Criminals Who Steal Extortion
Handlers Rewards Information
Art Trade Searching
Good Faith Purchases/Private
Collector
Sensitive Area
COMPENSATION SPECTRUM
Factors influencing payment
Reduce percentage for:• Higher Value• Recent thefts• No convictions• Less IntelligenceBut:• Danger of destruction• Ease of selling e.g. gold content• Removal of currency
• Serbian theft from Rotterdam registered in 2002• Due diligence searching internet• Posed as buyer/ payment• Recovery Canada/ Serbia/ Belgium/ France • No claim
Case studies: R1200 Mondrian
Piet Mondrian, Riverscene, oil on canvas on panel
Case studies: R1367
• Theft Paris
• French Police operation Serbia
• Recovery min payment
George Rouault, Female Nude, oil on canvas
CASE STUDIES: R 1315
• Theft in Oberwil Switzerland
• Insurer suspicious
• Items in Serbia inflated values.
Fraudulent Art Claims prevented/ fakes database /
proved by recovery
• Noortman £1m staged theft• California $22m staged and inflated• Jewellery – Diamond ring, claims sold by owner
Willem van de Velde II, seascape, oil on canvas
Due diligence searching 300.00-400.000 checks by ALR per
annum
For:• Auctions• Dealers• Fairs• Police• Internet• Underwriters to encourage
Central Database
• ALR established in 1991, worlds largest database of over 360,000 art, antiques and collectibles
• Registration, searching, Identification & restitution of stolen works - market value in excess of £100 million
Aims:• Providing a central “checkpoint” for purchasers and
buyers• Identifying and recovering stolen, missing and WW2
works of art• Reducing theft/trade in stolen art by impeding the
potential resale • Reducing loss ratio for the insurance industry
Watches Proposed database
COLLECTOR
DEALERSAUCTIONS
MANUFACTURER
INSURER
POLICE
DATABASEREAL NUMBERSFAKESSTOLEN
INTELLIGENCE
INFO AND THEFTSCHECKS
Damages
• Bakwin 3 million dollars
• Noortman circa 5 million pounds
Paul Cezanne, still-life with apples, oil on canvas
The Future
• Reduce theft by making selling on uneconomic.
• Due Diligence searching
• Increase fake checks on items insured
• Pursue Damages