Netherlands Hoards Stolen Art

The Netherlands is a depot for stolen artworks, the director of the world's largest detective bureau for stolen art says. Julian Radcliffe, the director of the London based Art Loss Register, said art stolen from northern and eastern Europe (Scandinavia, Germany and Russia) is often taken to the Netherlands. Radcliffe says that the criminal market thrives in the Netherlands because of a gap in Dutch law in relation to stolen art. Due to the statute of limitations, thieves become the owners of stolen private art after 20 years and 30 years for publicly-owned artworks that were stolen. "That means that thief can consider the Netherlands as a relatively safe warehouse if he cannot export the art," Radcliffe said. EUR 150 to 200 million in art is stolen worldwide each year. For the full story - click the title Irish Art