Culture & Arts
• Analysis
Art crime detective Arthur Brand warns all museums face museum theft
Art crime detective Arthur Brand says every museum has been, and will be, a victim of theft, speaking after €90 million worth of jewels were stolen from the Louvre. He appeared as a guest on France 24's Spotlight programme hosted by François Picard.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 19, 2026
• 2 Min Read
Thieves now target gold and silver
Speaking on France 24's Spotlight, Brand said the nature of museum theft has changed over the past decade. Instead of canvases, criminals increasingly go after objects made from precious metals that hold value even when destroyed.
- •Thieves have been targeting more and more gold and silver objects in the last 10 years.
- •Paintings are unique and cannot be cut in two, so they have fallen out of favour.
- •Stolen metals and gemstones can be dismantled, melted down or dispersed, making them attractive.
Copycat robberies across Europe
Brand warned that the Louvre break-in, in which thieves penetrated the museum and escaped within minutes, has inspired imitators. He described a disturbing proliferation of copycat museum robberies spreading across Europe since the theft of jewels worth €90 million from the Paris institution.
No masterminds, just opportunity
The detective challenged the popular "Hollywood" mythology of elaborate criminal masterminds behind such raids. In his view, the real drivers are opportunism and institutional security failures rather than genius plots.
Odds of recovering the Louvre jewels
As for the stolen jewels, Brand put the prospects of getting them back at even.
"50-50"
He also suggested French investigators may know considerably more than they have publicly disclosed. His overall warning stands: "All museums have been, and will be, victims of theft."
