[MSN] Greek police arrive in London on trail of smuggled antiquities. Treasures found in villa owned by British 'collector' Robin Symes and his late partner Christos Michaelides.

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Greek police arrive in London on trail of smuggled antiquities 

. Talks with Scotland Yard to counter trafficking 
. Treasures found in villa owned by British collector 

Helena Smith in Athens
Monday May 8, 2006
The Guardian 


Greek detectives arrive in London today for talks with Scotland Yard as
Athens steps up its efforts to combat the international trade in smuggled
antiquities.
After the recent discovery of priceless relics in an Aegean island home,
they hope the meeting will not only shed light on the murky business but
also illuminate London's role as a hub for traffickers.

The villa on the secluded Cycladic isle of Schinoussa was believed to be at
the heart of a smuggling trail stretching from the Middle East to Hollywood,
and was jointly owned by the British arts collector Robin Symes and his late
partner Christos Michaelides.

"We have information that there are antiquities [in the UK] that should be
in Greece," said Giorgos Gligoris, who heads the squad set up to combat
antiquities smuggling. "There are certain individuals we are looking into.
Be sure, we're determined to go to all lengths to [break] these rings and
we're making progress."
The visit comes as Greece increases the pressure on the Getty Villa museum
to return artefacts it says were illegally taken out of the country. Athens'
ruling conservatives will raise the issue during talks in the Greek capital
with Michael Brand, the director of the Malibu museum, tomorrow. The
government has threatened legal action if they are not given back.

The objects, which are highlights of the museum's collection, include a
2,500-year-old gold funerary wreath, an inscribed tombstone, a sculpted
marble torso of a young woman and an archaic votive relief acquired by John
Paul Getty in 1955. The Macedonian wreath, found by a farmer in northern
Greece in 1990, was bought in 1993 by the museum's former antiquities
curator Marion True.

Ms True, on trial in Rome on charges of conspiring to receive plundered art
works, bought the wreath for an estimated $1.15m from a Swiss arts dealer,
but the Greek authorities say it was almost certainly looted. The statue of
the female torso was purchased for $3.3m from Mr Symes. After Michaelides'
death two years ago, 17,000 allegedly stolen artefacts were found in
warehouses owned by Mr Symes.

Mr Gligoris said that Ms True, who resigned last year when it emerged that
Michaelides had loaned her $400,000 to buy a villa on the Cycladic isle of
Paros, would soon face additional pressure from Greece. "Last week we found
[29] undeclared relics in the villa and on Tuesday I will propose that the
prosecutor ... charges her with illegal possession of antiquities," he said.

Net profits from the global art trade are now believed to be on a par with
those from drug smuggling and human trafficking, according to Greek culture
ministry officials. The explosion of internet auction houses is thought to
have encouraged looting across the Mediterranean, with plunderers linking up
with criminal gangs intent on laundering spoils through the international
art market.

"Every parvenu wants to own an antiquity before they go on to buy a Monet,"
said one former official. "That, and the rise of the private collector,
means there is no shortage of demand."

Greek officials say police are poised to raid houses thought to contain
plundered antiquities in the UK and across Europe. "There must be a lot of
frightened people in Athens and elsewhere because they know we're homing
in," one insider said. "There are rich families, members of Athenian high
society, who have been involved in this for decades."

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/