The Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva has more than 9,000 artefacts of Japanese and Chinese culture. Image: BBC
Two British Brothers “should be banned from Switzerland.”
The prosecution has demanded a five-year ban from Switzerland for two British brothers due to their involvement in the theft of famous Chinese Ming Dynasty relics from a museum.
Stewart and Louis Ahearne admitted on Monday in a Geneva court that they were members of the group that broke into the Museum of Far Eastern Art in June 2019.
Prosecutor Marco Rossier recommended that the brothers be imprisoned for four years in addition to the ban.
Tuesday is when they will be sentenced.
The brothers, who are from southeast London, and a third man who was identified as Daniel Kelly by solicitors in court, Mr Rossier told the jury, were all “equally involved” in the break-in.
He claimed that when his older brother Stewart rented a Renault Captur vehicle in his name and drove it to and from the crime scene, Louis Ahearne conducted surveillance on the museum.
“Louis Ahearne booked the hotel room, the ski masks and clothing used in the burglary,” said Rossier.
“Everything was planned out and ready. Everything happened extremely quickly.”
Mr. Rossier clarified that the three men took one bowl to a Hong Kong auction company and that the raid included two bowls and a 14th-century vase.
The prosecutor further stated that Stewart Ahearne left his passport details when they sold the item.
A year after the theft, a second piece, a vase, was found in central London during an undercover sting operation with Metropolitan Police agents posing as art buyers. A wine cup that was the third stolen object has never been found.
A Doucai-style wine cup stolen from the museum remains missing. Image: MET POLICE
A historic townhouse in Geneva’s old centre, the Museum of Far Eastern Art sustained damage estimated to be worth 3.5 million Swiss francs (£3.2 million).
Louis Ahearne claimed to have carried out the break-in to “clear a debt” on Monday, while Stewart Ahearne accepted “full responsibility” and stated that he intended to “protect” his younger brother.
According to Mr. Rossier, the prosecution had doubts about the brothers’ account of what happened because the third party was not present in court and was presently facing extradition to Japan.
The Museum of Far Eastern Art’s Loris Bertoliatti testified in court as well, claiming that the organisation lost millions of dollars due to damage inflicted by a power saw, sledgehammer, and crowbar.
“They’re a professional gang,” the man declared.
“They were committed to selling the merchandise.
The museum is the victim.
What transpired startled a lot of people.” Nicola Barry, Stewart Ahearne’s partner, testified on Monday, describing the father-of-five as a “kind, loving, and nice person” and stating that his company has promised to hire him whenever he is released.
According to Suzanne Ahearne, the mother of the boys, Louis Ahearne is a “compassionate and empathetic” individual who experienced a “unhappy childhood”
. She informed the court that he has been writing to his nine-year-old son from prison in Switzerland ever since his extradition from the UK, attempting to “give the guidance he never got” from his father.
The defence attorneys for the Ahearnes will also present their case before Patrick Monney, the court president, renders a decision.