Four men are on trial over the theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from Blenheim Palace.
The last defendant to enter a plea was Bora Guccuk, 40, from west London, who pleaded not guilty at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday to one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
James Sheen, 39, from Willingborough, Northamptonshire, and Michael Jones, 38, from Oxford, were both charged in January for stealing the 18-carat art installation during an overnight raid in the early hours of September 14, 2019. Pleaded not guilty.
Sheen also denies a charge of transferring criminal property, while he and Frederick Seanes, 35, also known as Frederick Doe, of Ascot, Berkshire, both deny conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Property charges.
The fully functional toilet called “America” was designed by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan for New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2016 and has been used by more than 100,000 visitors.
It was installed at Blenheim Palace, the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born, as the centerpiece of an exhibition that began a week before it was stolen.
All four defendants are due to appear in court on February 24, 2025.