Crime Two American Expats, Whose Guatemala Home Turned Up More Than 1,200 Pre-Hispanic Artifacts, Face Charges of Smuggling A raid of the couple's home uncovered archaeological objects, and significant works in jade and basalt. By Sarah Cascone, Nov 17, 2022
Crime Before Retreating From Kherson, Russian Troops Emptied One of Ukraine’s Top Museums of Nearly 15,000 Objects They also targeted other cultural venues in the region in recent weeks. By Taylor Dafoe, Nov 14, 2022
Crime German Authorities Seized 30 Paintings, Including a $5 Million Chagall, From Sanctioned Russian Billionaire Alisher Usmanov The oligarch is accused of violating sanctions, laundering money, and evading $553 million in taxes in Germany. By Artnet News, Nov 9, 2022
Crime An Early American Portrait Stolen From a Staten Island Museum Was Recovered When an Eagle-Eyed Collector Spotted It at Auction When the painting turned up at a Bay Area auction, and an eagle-eyed folk art collector had a gut feeling he'd seen it before. By Sarah Cascone, Nov 7, 2022
Crime Disgraced Antiques Dealer Subhash Kapoor Was Handed a 10-Year Jail Sentence by an Indian Court for Dealing in Stolen Objects U.S. authorities are also investigating Kapoor and have returned hundreds of objects worth millions to India. By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 2, 2022
Crime A Michigan Photography Dealer Allegedly Bilked Elderly Clients Out of More Than $1.6 Million by Pretending to Be in a Coma Wendy Halsted Beard allegedly sold consigned artworks without notifying their owners, according to court documents. By Taylor Dafoe, Oct 24, 2022
Crime New York Has Returned Hundreds More Looted Antiquities Linked to Disgraced Dealer Subhash Kapoor to India Hundreds of looted objects linked to Kapoor have been returned to India in the past decade. By Caroline Goldstein, Oct 20, 2022
Crime A Group of Young Thieves Are Posing as Art Students to Rob Galleries on New York’s Lower East Side Betty Cunningham and Nicodim galleries are among the half-dozen targets. By Annie Armstrong, Oct 18, 2022
Crime A Visitor to a Buzzy Gallery Opening in London Later Returned in the Night and Made Off With a $20,000 Painting If it's not returned, "they'll abandon and destroy it—that would break my heart," said the owner of Ramiken gallery. By Vivienne Chow, Oct 17, 2022
Crime French Authorities Say They Have Nabbed a Youth Cyber-Gang That Stole $2.5 Million in NFTs The phishing scheme lured collectors with the promise of animating their Bored Apes. By Vittoria Benzine, Oct 13, 2022
Crime A Disgruntled Tourist Smashed Two 2,000-Year-Old Statues in the Vatican Because He Was Denied a Meeting With Pope Francis The damaged objects from the Chiaramonti Museum were described as "minor works" and are now at a conservation laboratory. By Vittoria Benzine, Oct 5, 2022
Crime As Russians ‘Pillage’ Ukraine’s Museums in Annexed Territories, Artifacts Are Turning Up in Moscow and on the Black Market The illegally annexed territories are home to many major museums. By Eileen Kinsella, Oct 3, 2022
Crime U.K. Dealer Rob Newland Has Pleaded Guilty to a Role in Inigo Philbrick’s $86 Million Art-Fraud Scheme Prosecutors say Newland helped construct the byzantine business deals that allowed the ruse to proceed. By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 26, 2022
Crime A Golden Baby Sculpture by Grayson Perry Was Stolen From a Bristol Gallery in Broad Daylight The limited-edition ceramic was made in honor of the nurses and families the artist met in a neonatal unit. By Dorian Batycka, Sep 7, 2022
Crime A Sculpture Residency in Upstate New York Was Ransacked. Police Charged the Culprits: Children as Young as 8 The group destroyed artworks, overturned furniture, shattered windows, and sprayed graffiti on the building’s walls. By Taylor Dafoe, Aug 31, 2022
