LOUVRE MUSEUM: THE HEIST AND AFTER

The high-profile heist at the Louvre in Paris October 19, 2025, played out like a scene from a Hollywood movie: a gang of thieves steal an assortment of dazzling royal jewels on display at one of the world's most famous museums.

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But with the authorities hot in pursuit, the robbers still have more work to do: How can they capitalise on their haul?

Most stolen works are never found. In the art crime courses, it is often pointed out that the recovery rate is below 10 per cent. This is particularly disturbing when you consider that between 50,000 and 100,000 artworks are stolen each year globally - the actual number may be higher due to underreporting - with the majority stolen from Europe.

That said, it's quite difficult to actually make money off stolen works of art. Yet the types of objects stolen from the Louvre - eight pieces of priceless jewellery - could give these thieves an upper hand.

Pilfered paintings can't be sold on the art market because thieves can't convey what's known as "good title," the ownership rights that belong to a legal owner. Furthermore, no reputable auction house or dealer would knowingly sell stolen art, nor would responsible collectors purchase stolen property.

But that doesn't mean stolen paintings don't have value.

In 2002, thieves broke into Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum through the roof and departed with "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" and "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" in tow.