On 30 January, an impressive collection of Hermès decorative objects took pride of place in a conference hall at the finance ministry in Paris. It included dishes and plates inlaid with gold, ceramic mugs, cashmere sofa throws and paperweights sculpted in the shape of a horse's head.
All had been seized by France's ONAF national anti-fraud authority late last year at the home of the head of a vast French money-laundering network, during an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor's Office,
