Transnational crime and the interface between legal and illegal actors : the case of the illicit art and antiquities trade

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Transnational crime and the interface between legal and illegal actors

: the case of the illicit art and antiquities trade

Tijhuis, A.J.G.

Citation

Tijhuis, A. J. G. (2006, September 6). Transnational crime and the interface between legal

and illegal actors : the case of the illicit art and antiquities trade. Wolf Legal Publishers.

Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4551

Version:

Corrected Publisher’s Version

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Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the

_{Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden}

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Acknowledgements

Thisdissertation wouldnothavebeen possiblewithoutthehelpofanumberof people. Thanking all of them for what they contributed would make these acknowledgementstoo longandhardto read.Furthermore,anumberofthem wish to remain anonymous,fordifferentreasons.Nevertheless,Iwouldliketo nameseveralpeopleandinstitutionsthathavebeen particularlyhelpful.

FirstofallIwantto expressmygratitudeto theNetherlandsInstituteforthe StudyofCrimeandLaw Enforcement(NSCR)in Leiden.Itwasapleasureto workhereforoverfouryears.Dedicatedandhardworkingresearchers,good facilitiesandampleopportunitiesforconferencesandcoursesmakeitan ideal placeto workon aPhD study.A specialwordofthanksgoesto Melvin Soudijn, Jaspervan derKempandAlbertHarteveld.

Theempiricalstudyoftheillicitartandantiquitiestradewouldnothavebeen possiblewithoutthegenerousandamplesupportofCharlottevan Rappard -Boon,theheadoftheInspectorateofCulturalHeritageattheDutch Ministryof Education,SciencesandCulture.AttheInspectorateIwasableto analyzefiles on theimportandexportofculturalgoodsto andfrom theNetherlands.Thanks to thealwayshelpfulinspectorsandotherstaffmembers,thiswasnotonlya fruitfulbutalso apleasantendeavour.

TheworkattheInspectorateincludedarangeofvisitsto Dutch Customs, where cooperative and qualified staff enabled me to make the most of the availabledata.Furthermore,viatheInspectorate,Iwasableto visitanumberof foreign law enforcementagenciesin France,ItalyandtheUnitedKingdom.In theUnitedKingdom thisincludedtheCulturalPropertyUnitattheDepartment forCultureMediaandSportaswellasNew ScotlandYard.In Italy,Imadean extensivevisitto theartsquadoftheCarabinieri,themilitarypolice.Finally,in France,Istayedwith theL'OfficeCentraldeluttecontreletraficdesBiens Culturels,theartsquadofthenationalpolice.Forobviousreasons,Icannot mention thenamesofthepersonsinvolved.

Thesevisitsnotonlyprovidedmewith usefuldatabutwerealso aunique chanceto experiencethemodusoperandiofspecializedforeign law enforcements agenciesthathaveno Dutch equivalent.Iam indebtedto allthepersonsthat werewillingto dedicatetheirtimeto aforeign academic.

Besidestheofficialsources,Ispokewith alonglistofpeoplein andaround theartandantiquitiestrade.Artdealers,museum curators,archaeologists,art historians,as wellassomepeoplewho do notfitinto oneofthesegeneral categories.In differentways,thesepeopleprovidedmewith interestingdata, insightsorjustopinions.Iwouldliketo thankallofthem fortheirvarying contributionsto mystudy.Furthermore,Iam much indebtedto Antoon Ott, formerdirectorofNedArt,who assistedmein variouswayswith thisstudy.

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