British Lawyer Accused of da Vinci Extortion Plot

From today’s Guardian:

A solicitor [a non-litigation attorney] has been accused along with four other men of threatening to destroy a stolen Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece unless they were paid £4.25m [$6.36 million], in a conspiracy allegedly hatched in the offices of one of Glasgow’s leading law firms.

Valued at £30m [$44m] to £50m[$75m], the painting was the centrepiece of the then duke’s collection at Drumlanrig castle, near Dumfries, reputed to be the UK’s most valuable collection in private hands, when it was stolen in August 2003 in a daylight robbery. The heist remains the UK’s biggest art theft. The painting was recovered in October 2007[.]

Tags: art crimes, Art Law, art theft, painting