Why the courts overturned convictions in Brett Whiteley forgery case
The Court of Appeal's judgment in this case reads like the script of a great art-crime movie, writes freelance journalist Angus Smith.
The Arts
May 9, 2017
Art dealer Peter Gant
Art dealer Peter Stanley Gant and art conservator Mohamed Aman Siddique were found guilty by a jury of forging and selling Brett Whiteley paintings to the value of $3.6 million in May 2016. But last month -- in an extraordinary reversal of fortunes -- the pair’s convictions were quashed on appeal, when the Crown conceded that the jury’s verdict was likely to be "unsafe", bringing to an end a fascinating and episodic courtroom drama.
