$12 million frozen following investigation into disgraced art dealer's stolen Cambodian antiquities
07/07/2023
TWELVE million dollars held by Jersey financial institutions have been frozen in what has been described as the ‘largest ever’ forfeiture of proceeds from the sale of stolen antiquities.
The Royal Court agreed to freeze the assets following an investigation into a scheme by the late Douglas Latchford, a disgraced art dealer, to sell stolen Cambodian antiquities in the USA and elsewhere.
Attorney General Mark Temple KC said that the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit in the Law Officers’ Department and the Jersey Financial Intelligence Unit worked ‘in close partnership’ with the US Department of Justice in this ‘important case’.
Following the death of Mr Latchford, the proceedings were brought under the Civil Asset Recovery (International Co-Operation) (Jersey) Law 2007, which Mr Temple called a ‘powerful additional weapon for Jersey in the fight against international financial crime and money-laundering’.
Following an approach by the US Department of Justice to the Attorney Jersey, the Royal Court yesterday agreed to make the funds subject to a property freezing order.
This allows the Attorney General to apply on behalf of another country to freeze and return property which has been found to have been used in unlawful conduct or obtained in the course of unlawful conduct.
The money will eventually be returned via the US Treasury to the people of Cambodia in an asset-sharing agreement.
https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2023/07/06/12-million-frozen-following-investigation-into-disgraced-art-dealers-stolen-cambodian-antiquities/
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.