THE glittering lifestyle of professional criminals can be seen this week as a Northern Irish auction house sells a staggering £ 3 million fortune that was seized by law enforcement.
A preview of the luxury goods for sale by Wilsons Auctions – including gold bars, designer watches and six-figure jewelry – is already available.
The online auction – only for 24 hours – starts tomorrow at 11 a.m.
There are 9kg gold bars and over £ 400,000 worth of Asian gold, 22 carats, with no reserve price.
They were confiscated within the framework of criminal law and all income will be returned to the public purse.
Other lots include a selection of Rolex watches, including a £ 50,000 platinum Rolex Day Date.
High-end gems include an 18-carat rose gold tennis necklace valued at £ 115,000 and a GIA-certified 5.35-carat marquise-cut diamond ring valued at £ 450,000.
There are also 18k white gold diamond clip earrings signed by Cartier with a matching case worth £ 160,000, a platinum Art Deco emerald cabochon and diamond panel bracelet worth £ 150,000 and two Audermars Piguet Royal Oaks -Cartier and Breitling watches.
Handbags from luxury brands such as Chanel are also being offered from the booty of international crime.
Wilsons Auctions’ state sales coordinator Michael Streight said they were “happy to have such an impressive online auction of luxury goods.”
The asset recovery division works with 17 countries worldwide, selling assets from cryptocurrencies to supercars, luxury watches and designer goods for government agencies, law enforcement agencies and bankruptcy administrators.
Mr. Streight described the recent auction as “a great opportunity for customers to purchase high quality, highly sought-after luxury goods at an affordable price from the comfort of their desktop or mobile device”.
International bidders are drawn to such auctions, which typically generate significant savings on quality items, and the auction house continued to provide its dedicated online auction services during the “unprecedented times” of the pandemic.
In March, the Mallusk-based company reported a 24 percent increase in revenue for the previous year, increasing from £ 29.3 million to £ 36.4 million for the 12 month period.
The largest independent auction group in Ireland and the UK dropped the hammer on £ 342 million worth of goods.
After a slump in 2019, pre-tax net income rebounded last year, doubling from £ 599,000 to £ 1.3 million.
https://www.wilsonsauctions.com/timed-auction/listings?culture=en-GB&salecode=212575&page=1&pagesize=10&sortby=reference_asc