UK police charges four men for stealing golden toilet worth £4.8 million Blenheim Palace

UK Police has charged four men for theft of a fully-functioning golden toilet estimated to be worth £4.8 million.

The 18-carat toilet was stolen from Oxfordshire's Blenheim Palace in September 2019.

The four accused have been identified as James Sheen, Michael Jones, Fred Doe and Bora Guccuk.


Thames Valley Police said the four accused, aged 35 to 39,have been charged with one count of burglary, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property.

The accused are due to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court on 28 November.

The lavatory, an art piece titled "America", was installed in Blenheim Palace - the birthplace of former UK Prime Minister - as part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's first solo exhibition in 20 years. Located near Oxford, the palace is currently home to Duke of Marlborough as well as houses a museum. The toilet was reportedly displayed in a room adjoining the one where Churchill was born.

Prior to that, the golden loo was on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The golden toilet was also offered to US president Donald Trump by the museum after it declined his request to borrow Vincent Van Gogh’s Landscape with Snow.

The functional toilet was conceived as a form of commentary on the prevalent wealth disparity in the United States and a statement on the excessive wealth found in the country.