Between 1976 and 1982, British-Indian lawyer, Aziz Kurtha, purchased several paintings from the Goan artist, Francis Souza. This collection of paintings included “Chalice with Host” (1953) and “Head of a Portuguese Navigator” (1961). Kurtha claimed that these paintings were in his possession in 1984, stored either in his home in London (he kept property in London though he had relocated to Abu Dhabi) or in a storage facility. In 1990, Kurtha created an updated inventory and the paintings in question were still in his possession at that time. However, in September 2002 he noticed five other paintings he owned included in Bonhams illustrated catalogue for an upcoming auction of Islamic and Indian art. After complaining to Bonhams and reporting to the police that the paintings were stolen, Bonhams withdrew the paintings from the auction. Additionally, Kurtha was “granted an injunction restraining Bonhams from disposing of five pictures”. Shortly thereafter, Kurtha learned that “the lots had been entered by two different consignors, namely Mr Demetriou and Mr Baxter”.  In December 2002, Kurtha and Baxter reached a settlement agreement in which Baxter “relinquished all rights over two paintings” (Demetriou was the consignor for the three other paintings) in exchange for payment from Kurtha. In January 2003, Bonhams notified Kurtha that one of the three remaining images had been sold. In response, Kurtha filed a claim against Demetriou seeking the return of the remaining two paintings and the proceeds of the recently sold one. On 19 February 2003, Kurtha and Demetriou came to an agreement in which Kurtha paid 8000 GBP for the remaining paintings. Kurtha later visited the storage unit where he kept many of his paintings and found that more paintings had been missing. On 1 May 2005, Kurtha wrote to the ALR (the Art Loss Register) seekng to “register three paintings which he said had gone missing” – these paintings included the “Chalice with Host” and “Head of a Portuguese Navigator,” as well as an additional third painting. On 10 January 2006, Mr Marks (the defendant and a colleague of Demetriou) phoned the ALR “to enquire about Souza paintings in general, and the Paintings [Chalice and Navigator] in particular”. Mr Radcliffe, Founder and Chairman of the ALR, told Marks that there “was no problem as to title”, when indeed there was as Kurtha claimed ownership of the paintings and had reported them missing. Marks then purchased the paintings from Demetriou who had recently bought them from another dealer, Mr Christopher Martin, who in turn claims he purchased the paintings from a Ms Banarse several years earlier. Kurtha learned about the ongoing dealings of the paintings and brought the issue to court. The High Court of Justice granted Kurtha’s claim and Marks was ordered to return the paintings to him.