The private peninsula on the the Island of Schinoussa, currently owned by the Papadimitriou family.

A long time ago, on an island not so far away, in April 2006, Greek authorities involved in “Operation Aeolos”, executed a search warrant at the Papadimitriou - Michaelides family properties located on the small Greek island of Schinoussa in the Eastern Cyclades, as well as a second residence owned by Despina Papadimitriou in the affluent Athens suburb of Paleo Psychiko.  By the time this police action took place, the 206 acres on the privately-owned cape overlooking the Aegean Sea, purchased in the 1970s by Christos Michaelides, Despina Papadimitriou, and their mother Irini Papadimitriou, had already been transferred to six offshore limited liability companies based in Panama.  Those company shares were subsequently transferred to Dimitri, Angeliki and Alexandros Papadimitriou.

Early view of the Michaelides Papadimitriou mansion, on the privately owned cape of Schinoussa.

The searches carried out at these two locations lasted a week, during which a total of 152 ancient artworks were inventoried by investigating authorities, pieces which the Papadimitriou's appointed lawyer claimed belonged to an offshore Panama-based company named Land Investments Funds S.A.   Later, evaluations by two committees of experts, held in order to determine which objects were authentic and subject to seizure under existing Greek Law 3028/2002 on the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General, determined that 65 of the seized items were protected under Greece's cultural property law and that 53 of these were confirmed as having been illegally acquired.  The committee also looked into what objects might merely have been fakes or reproductions.

In addition to the artefacts, police conducting the search recovered 17 leather-bound albums containing photographic documentation, evidence now referred to as the “Schinoussa Archive”.  These Inside these binders, business records depict a total of  995 artefacts viewable across 2,191 photos, with the bulk of the images, shot by professional photographers.  

The records are derived from the most important antiquities which are known to have been directly circulated by, or proffered for sale to, antiquities dealers Robin Symes and Christo Michaelides, who sold ancient art to prominent collectors and museums through Robin Symes Limited, based in London.

While the professional photographs contained in this archive are not, in and of themselves, probative evidence that each photographed antiquity came into the possession of Symes and Michaelides, or that each ancient object was circulated on the art market subsequent to illicit excavation or illegal removal from their country of origin, but the vast number of antiquities depicted in these files raise disturbing questions about where the objects came from as well as the pair's established business connections with known antiquities trafficking networks. 

The artefacts seized in 2006 as evidence in accordance with Greek Law 3028/2002 on the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General, along with these business records, kicked-off one, if not the, singularly most important and protracted illicit trafficking investigations to be undertaken in Greece.

Christo Michaelides descended from a prominent Greek shipping dynasty, run by his father, Alexander Votsi Michaelides.  His sister is Despina Papadimitriou, was one of the four original defendants charged with cultural property crimes by the Greek prosecutor Eleni Raikou seven months after the Schinoussa and Psychiko seizures in 2006.  Other individuals originally named in that first criminal case included Despina's three adult children, Dimitri, Alexis, and Angeliki, though the court's rulings would eventually apply solely to Despina and Dimitri.

Now, nearly two decades after these objects' seizures, an Athens court has delivered what one hopes will be a final ruling against Despina and Dimitris Papadimitriou, concluding the extended courtroom drama which has dragged on for 17 years. 

Mother and son were sentenced on 22 May 2025 to three years and six months in prison, with a suspension of three years, specifically for misappropriation of monuments of particularly great value.  In addition to these brief prison sentences, a modest fine of 10,000 euros was imposed which hardly reflects the extensive public resources and years of prosecutorial effort expended by the country's prosecutors and judges in pursuing justice.

Originally accused on 22 November 2006 of illegally possessing and receiving illicit antiquities, the Papadimitrious, were first convicted at the end of July 2018 by the E (5th) 3 member Appeal Penal Court of Athens who stated:

"The Court by majority found guilty Despina and Dimitri Papadimitriou for the act of embezzlement of monuments and convicted each one of them to suspended imprisonment of 4 years. It also ratified the seizure and ordered the confiscation of the seized items."

According to Greek Law No. 3028/02, “On the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General” (article 56), destruction, damage or alteration of a monument, as well as theft or embezzlement of monuments, (articles 53 and 54 respectively) are punishable acts in Greece.  

According to that indictment, the defendants unlawfully appropriated: 

"ancient monuments, cultural goods dating back to prehistoric, ancient, Byzantine and post-Byzantine times until 1830." (Greek «ιδιοποιήθηκαν παράνομα αρχαία μνημεία, πολιτιστικά αγαθά που ανάγονται στους προϊστορικούς, αρχαίους, βυζαντινούς και μεταβυζαντινούς χρόνους έως και το 1830»)

And as stated in the hearing that referred them to the audience of the Triennial Court of Appeal of Athens: 

"There is an aim of income generation and a constant propensity to commit the crime, which is directed against the State, the embezzlement of monuments as an element of their personality."(Greek «Προκύπτει σκοπός για πορισμό εισοδήματος και σταθερή ροπή προς τη διάπραξη του εγκλήματος, που στρέφεται κατά του Δημοσίου, της υπεξαίρεσης μνημείων ως στοιχείο της προσωπικότητάς τους».)

In 2022, despite the breadth of the incriminating evidence collected by investigators, a Five-Member Athens Court of Appeal overrode the lower court decision and moved to acquit the Papadimitrious of monument embezzlement, citing insufficient proof of the crime.  That ruling was then reversed by Greece’s Fifth Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court who criticised the Appellate Court's decision citing that it exceeded its authority, since, among other things, it selectively assessed the evidence that emerged during the hearing and had issued its acquittal of the defendants without sufficient reasoning. 

That decision sent the case back for retrial in 2025, paving the way for this year's proceedings before a new panel of judges, distinct from those who had previously acquitted the pair. 

Last week, in issuing its convictions, the court rejected the Papadimitrious' defence, citing the scope of the collection and significant gaps in provenance.  Undeterred and well-resourced, the family plans to continue litigating. 

According to their lawyer, the Papadimitrious will appeal the conviction to the Greek Supreme Court, an option readily available to those for whom time is no constraint and money no object.  Until then, their distinguished guests will continue to rub elbows with the elite, arriving in various ways to the Cycladic island, some by helicopter, others on ultra-luxury yachts, visiting the emblematic island home of the shipping family who only received a slap on the wrist.

By:  Lynda Albertson

In the tangled web of organised crime, illicit art dealings can sometimes serve as both currency and collateral.  The ongoing trial of "Flor B.,"a Belgian national with a shocking criminal resume and a growing reputation as one of Europe's most dangerous narco-traffickers, has taken a dramatic turn into the world of cultural crime.  Dubbed the “Bongoking” in encrypted chat logs, this individual has been linked by prosecutors to the high-profile theft of Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer, a 17th-century masterpiece by Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, stolen on 26 August 2020 from the Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden Museum in Leerdam, housed on the Kerkstraat.

The first lead on this case came in early 2021, when White Hat cyber-exploit hackers in the European police cracked SKY ECC's EncroChat encryption software, a chat service app that only ran on specially configured Nokia, Google, Apple and BlackBerry phones.  Listening in, the law enforcement officers struck intelligence gold.  By 2023, officers had intercepted some 115 million criminal conversations, by an estimated 60,000 users in which criminals openly negotiated, sometimes in extremely granular detail, money laundering, murders, counterfeiting, drugs, and firearms trafficking.  

In some of these messages and voice recordings, shared both in group chats and one-on-one conversations, members of this drug network coordinated cocaine shipments, talked about their connections with South America drug barons, bragged about violent exploits, and discussed the recent high-profile art theft.

Just two weeks after the museum theft in Leerdam, in messages from the police-cracked app which are now part of trial records, occurred between an individual going by the chat handle Bongoking (Flor B's alleged pseudonym) who discussed the recently filched 17th-century painting, bragging about negotiating a lower purchase price.  

In selected texts released to the public Bongoking writes:

“I recently bought a Frans Hals, 2 laughing boys,” 

“Paid dearly, brother… Asked for 750, settled for 550.” 

Authorities believe this figure represents €550,000, the price the speaker paid for the stolen painting.  He chillingly outlines the painting's purpose in the same chat: not as a collector’s trophy, but as a strategic asset—something to potentially barter for leniency in relation to his wife's role in the criminal's illegal affairs.

“It won’t work for me, brother. But I might still be able to keep my wife out of jail with it, you know,” he wrote, anticipating his own eventual downfall.

He also talked about his construction of a private airport in Equatorial Guinea, used to exploit a shipping loophole which allowed cocaine to flow more easily into the Benelux as part of the kingpin's rapidly expanding criminal enterprise. 

Already a fugitive from justice, the discerning kingpin was in hiding in Switzerland, where for 20 months, he is alleged to have run his international drug cartel from various luxury properties unchallenged.  To do so he used the names Artur Gitta or later Georgios Kandylidis.  His wife for her part became known first as Simone Jung and then as Alexandra Sapranova.  That is until shortly before midnight on 16 February 2022 when both their crime-filled lives caught up with them.   

Following an intensive manhunt, Flor B. and his wife were arrested at a luxury 22nd floor apartment in the exclusive Renaissance residence (Mobimo Tower) in the heart of Zürich West.  The couple's infant son was sleeping in his crib in the next room when law enforcement officers raided the highrise.

Taken into custody, Flor B will be held at the Pöschwies correctional facility for eight months before being extradited to Belgium where he is placed in solitary confinement at Poort van Beveren, a state of the art, high security penal institution while his case in Begium proceeds.  His wife is initially held at the Dielsdorf women's prison in special prison accommodation for offenders with small children.  She will remain there for eight months before being released, and subsequently also extradited to Belgium.  

Flor B's legal team, led by attorney Yehudi Moszkowicz, disputes the prosecution’s interpretation of the messages related to the stolen painting.  Moszkowicz insists his client denies authorship of the incriminating texts and criticises the one-sided nature of the evidence, pointing out the absence of full chat transcripts, as well as the identity of the recipient. “These chats do not show that the sender of the messages actually has access to the painting,” he argued, suggesting the possibility of exaggeration.

But this is far from Flor B’s only serious criminal allegation.  The breakthrough in the SKY ECC cryptophone app exposed this network's trafficking operations, which investigators say revealed the young man as a central figure in a massive European drug empire.  His purported alias Bongoking surfaced repeatedly in communications linked to the importation of more than 16 tons of cocaine, valued at €400 million.  The message also allegedly tie him to violent networks in South America and the Netherlands.  Among the most startling revelations is his alleged orchestration of a drug smuggling scheme using Kriva Rochem, an Antwerp-based water treatment firm that doubled as a front business for cocaine importation.

In closing, the alleged link between Flor B., and his potential connection to the Frans Hals painting is remarkably similar to the thefts of two Van Gogh paintings which ended up in the hands of Camorra-linked mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale.  Likewise last December Stefan Papić, a member of the drug cartel Tito and Dino and considered to be the right-hand man of Flor B was arrested on the basis of a warrant from Belgium.  Papić had opened an art gallery Puro Arte in Breda which is suspected of being used to launder the proceeds of crime.  All three illustrate transnational organised crime figures who are members of massive drug cartels and who dabbled in the world of artistic works with the motivation of using them to launder the proceeds of crime, or use them as collateral or leverage in negotiations, whether in backrooms, on smart phones, or ultimately, in courtrooms during plea deals.

Unfortunately as Flor B's trial continues, the Frans Hals painting remains missing and its fate remains uncertain.  What we do know is that its value is immense not only in monetary terms but as a documented example of how deeply organised crime can entrench itself in the cracks of legitimate society.  Whether hanging in museums or hidded in a drug lord's hideaway, the convergence of fine art and criminal finance continues to challenge the boundaries of law enforcement, and the integrity of the art world itself.

Art advisor and gallerist Oghenochuko "Ochuko" Ojiri pleaded guilty today in Westminster Magistrates' Court to eight counts of failing to disclose information about transactions in the regulated art market sector, contrary to section 21A of the UK's Terrorism Act.  His case marks the first time an individual has been prosecuted under this specific offence and highlights the increasing scrutiny the art market faces as a potential conduit for illicit financial activities, including those that could fund terrorism.

Ojiri previously was affiliated with Pelicans & Parrots, established in 2010 in London and directed the Ramp Gallery in Hackney which  specialises in works by emerging and contemporary artists.  His business operates under the registered business name Jessomey Ltd. 

In November 2021, Ramp Gallery was rebranded as Ojiri Gallery and moved its primary gallery operations to the heart of Shoreditch in the former 2,120 sq ft Carl Freedman space on Charlotte Road.  The original gallery location in Dalston, then became known as Ojiri Projects.

Ojiri Gallery, London

Known for his appearances on the popular BBC shows Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip, Ojiri was arrested on these charges on 18 April 2023 following an investigation conducted by the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, part of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The Treasury, HMRC, and Scotland Yard's Arts & Antiques Unit were also involved in the probe.

Lyndon Harris, for the prosecution, outlined investigators’ findings in which the Nigerian-British art dealer was identified as having conducted a series of transactions between October 2020 and December 2021 totalling £138,150, through the sale of artworks to Nazem Said Ahmad, a Lebanese Shia diamond dealer and prominent contemporary art collector.

This occurred despite Ojiri knowing that, as early as 13 December 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had already  designated Ahmad as a a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. This US designation was pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial or technological support to Hezbollah, the Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group.

In building their case in London, law enforcement officers gathered evidence that Ojiri was aware of Ahmad's designation, had accessed news reports about it, and had engaged in discussions acknowledging the collector’s ties to Hezbollah.

On 18 April 2023, the UK government also imposed sanctions on Ahmad under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, freezing all his UK-based assets and prohibiting UK individuals or businesses from engaging in transactions with him or with his affiliated entities: White Starr DMCC, Bexley Way General Trading LLC, Best Diamond House DMCC, Sierra Gem Diamonds Company NV, Park Ventures SAL, or the Artual Gallery.  UK authorities allege Ahmad used the London art market to circumvent sanctions through a complex web of companies used to launder funds via transactions involving numerous UK-based artists, galleries, and auction houses.  In May 2023, the UK's National Crime Agency seized 23 paintings worth approximately £1 million from Ahmad, underscoring the scale of his operations.

Based on the evidence presented, Ojiri, represented by Barrister Gavin Irwin, pleaded guilty to all eight charges of failing to disclose his dealings with the sanctioned collector.  Each count is said to relate to an individual artwork sale, with pieces subsequently exported to Dubai or Beirut.

Facing up to five years in prison, Ojiri was released today on conditional bail requiring him to surrender his passport and refrain from applying for any travel documents.

He has been scheduled for sentencing at the Old Bailey on 6 June 2025.