Four men have been charged over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the ancestral English mansion where wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.
Michael Jones, 38, and James Sheen, 39, from Oxford, face burglary charges. Fred Doe, 35, of Ascot, and Bora Guccuk, 39, from London, are accused of conspiring to transfer criminal property. Police had made several arrests over the theft since 2019, but this is the first time anyone has been formally charged.
Created as part of Italian concept artist Maurizio Cattelan’s first solo exhibition in 20 years, the golden toilet was previously on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The toilet had only been on show for two days before it was stolen.
Speaking at the time of the incident, Cattelan said he hoped the robbery was “a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action.”
In a statement, senior prosecutor Shan Saunders said: “The CPS has authorised charges in relation to the theft of a gold toilet from Blenheim Palace in 2019. Criminal proceedings against James Sheen, Michael Jones, Fred Doe and Bora Guccuk are now active and they each have the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The group are due to appear at Oxford Magistrates Court for a trial on Nov. 28.
