By admin 
A 40-year-old man from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has been convicted for his involvement in the theft of a solid gold toilet worth approximately Rs 42.5 crore from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
The theft took place in September 2019 when the fully functional gold toilet, which was part of an art exhibition, was stolen. Despite extensive investigations, the stolen gold has never been recovered and is believed to have been melted down.
During the trial at Oxford Court, prosecutors revealed that three suspects were arrested in connection with the burglary. Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, denied the charges, while Frederick Sines, 36, from Windsor, and Bora Guccuk, 41, from West London, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to transfer stolen gold.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC told the court that on September 14, 2019, a group of five individuals used two cars to break through the locked gates of Blenheim Palace. They then used sledgehammers to force their way inside, executing the entire burglary in just five minutes.
The stolen toilet, titled America, was crafted by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. The 18-carat gold artwork, weighing 98 kg, was insured for $6 million (approximately Rs 50 crore). At the time of the theft, the gold alone was valued at around £2.8 million (approximately Rs 30 crore).
Authorities discovered messages, voice notes, and screenshots on the suspects’ phones, indicating they had arranged to sell about 20 kg of the stolen gold at £25,632 (approximately Rs 27 lakh) per kilogram. Guccuk, a jeweler based in Hatton Garden, reportedly made a profit of around £3,000 (Rs 3.2 lakh) per kilogram of gold he resold.
Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famously known as the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
Gill Bikram Singh