London Police Have Issued an Arrest Warrant for Art Heiress Angela Gulbenkian After She Skipped Her Court Date

The legal woes of jet-setting art heiress Angela Gulbenkian have
hit a new low after London’s Metropolitan Police issued a warrant
for her arrest for failing to appear in court today.

The German Gulbenkian, who married the great-grandnephew of
famed art collector and patron Calouste Gulbenkian, stands accused
of theft after having allegedly arranged fraudulent art deals.

“A bench warrant has been issued for her arrest,” the police
press bureau told Artnet News in an email.

Gulbenkian was charged with two counts of theft in April, and
was scheduled to have had a pretrial hearing at Southwark Crown
Court today. She stands accused of having stolen £1.1 million ($1.4
million) after allegedly making a fraudlent sale of a polka
dot pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama to Hong Kong-based art
advisor Mathieu Ticolat in April 2017.

Working with Christopher Marinello of Art Recovery International, Ticolat
filed criminal charges against Gulbenkian in January 2018 after the
work never arrived.

Gulbenkian narrowly avoided ending up behind bars last year
after missing an earlier court date. A warrant was issued for
her arrest back in June, but Marinello tells Artnet News that
“she conned the judge into thinking she was having some kind of
elective surgery and they vacated the warrant and set the date for
trial.”

London police did not respond to inquiries regarding the earlier
warrant, noting only that Gulbenkian “appeared at Westminster
Magistrates’ Court on May 28 and was bailed pending further case
management hearings.”

As of press time, Artnet News was unable to reach Gulbenkian for
comment.

Ticolat isn’t the only person who claims to have been defrauded
by Gulbenkian.

An anonymous London dealer filed a separate lawsuit
against her in Germany last month, alleging that she sold him an
Andy Warhol print for £115,000 ($151,000), but pocketed the
money, leaving the dealer on the hook when the work’s original
owner came calling. That deal took place in March 2019, after
Ticolat’s charges had already been filed.

Marinello believes the German case will help make the arrest
warrant stick.

“While she’s awaiting trial, she’s still committing additional
crimes,” he said. “We have many, many theft victims who are
out enormous sums of money.”

He added: “We’re doing everything within our power to try
and locate her. She may not be a very good art dealer or art
advisor, but she is a very good fraudster—but that will catch up
with her.”

At today’s hearing, Gulbenkian’s former attorney, Howard
Godfrey, informed the court that he was no longer representing
her.

The post London Police Have Issued an Arrest Warrant for Art
Heiress Angela Gulbenkian After She Skipped Her Court Date
appeared first on artnet News.