Antiquities dealer and a missing £18m collection

One of the capital's most successful antiquities dealers is being investigated over a missing multi-million-pound collection of art deco furniture.

Robin Symes and his partner Christo Michailidis built one of the world's largest art businesses, procuring artefacts for the rich and famous.

Since Mr Michailidis died a decade ago, Mr Symes has been embroiled in a legal battle with his ex-partner's Greek family over ownership of the men's collection.

It is claimed that Mr Symes is now being investigated over the missing furniture collection created by one of Europe's most influential designers, Eileen Gray, and valued at £18 million.

Mr Michailidis's family claim that Mr Symes discreetly sold off the collection before a court order was granted to freeze his assets. Mr Symes, 69, served a jail sentence in 2005 for disregarding court orders over the sale of a £3 million Egyptian statue.

Before the death of 56-year-old Mr Michailidis, who fell down a staircase at a villa, he lived with Mr Symes in a £6 million Chelsea property with a room dedicated to the display of the Gray furniture. Investigators for the Michailidis family have allegedly accumulated evidence that Mr Symes sold the masterpieces through a Parisian art dealer.

London law firm Bird & Bird, which represents the Michailidis family, has reportedly obtained details of Mr Symes's bank accounts that are said to reveal a money trail emanating from the secret sale of the Gray collection. They allegedly indicate that Mr Symes received a $10.3 million payment for it.