The TRANSFORM Project studies the complex relationships between people and objects and how those relationships can lead to crime.
TRANSFORM doesn’t just focus on criminal acts.
We are interested in legal interactions with objects too.
By learning about the legal and illegal networks that form around antiquities, wildlife, and fossils we hope to better understand why people break the law and to develop better ways to protect these objects.

Dr Donna Yates will participate in Round Table ‘Science Diplomacy: As a tool for tackling cultural property illicit trafficking’, May 25 and 26, 2023. The event aims to foster greater

Yates speaking at conference on use of AML/CFT in Investigation of Art & Antiquities Criminality
Dr Donna Yates is speaking at a regional conference on use of AML/CFT in Investigation of Art & Antiquities Criminality in Mexico. Conference is taking place from 9–11 May, 2023

Hübschle will present at 15th Herpetological Association of Africa Conference, 16-19 January 2023
Dr Annette Hübschle will be presenting at the 15th Conference of the Herpetological Society of Africa, 16-19 January 2023. Dr Hübschle will introduce Trafficking Transformations project, and talk about methods

Donna Yates was featured in the New York Times article “For U.S. Museums With Looted Art, the Indiana Jones Era Is Over”. Full article can be read here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/arts/museums-looted-art-repatriation.html

New book edited by Naomi Oosterman and Donna Yates out now!
New book titled Art Crime in Context edited by Naomi Oosterman and Donna Yates is out now! “This book brings together empirical and theoretical case-study research on art and heritage

Mackenzie giving talk at the conference organised by Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand
Dr Simon Mackenzie will talk about TRANSFORM project in the context of Anti-Money Laundering issues related to trafficking at Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Finance group, Department of Internal
Criminological Frameworks for Understanding Mexican Antiquities in Contemporary European Auctions
Yates, Donna and Diāna Bērziņa (2022) Criminological Frameworks for Understanding Mexican Antiquities in Contemporary European Auctions. In: EL EXPOLIO DE BIENES CULTURALES, L. Pérez-Prat Durbán, and Z. Ruiz (eds). Huelva:
Money Laundering and Antiquities
Brodie, Neil and Donna Yates (2022) Money Laundering and Antiquities.Transfer,1:97-109.
Book review: A Maya Universe in Stone
Yates, Donna (2022) Review of: Stephen Houston (ed.), A Maya Universe in Stone, Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2021 (192 p.). CAA Reviews.
Creative compliance, neutralization techniques, and palaeontological ethics
Yates, Donna (2022) Creative compliance, neutralization techniques, and palaeontological ethics. The Geological Curator,11(7):428–435.
Private Art Businesses and Organized Crime
Yates, Donna and Christoph Rausch (2022) Private Art Businesses and Organized Crime. In: The Private Sector and Organized Crime, Yuliya Zabyelina, Kimberley L. Thachuk (eds.). London: Routledge.
Dore, Ashleigh, Annette Hübschle and Mike Batley (2022) Towards Environmental Restorative Justice in South Africa: How to Understand and Address Wildlife Offences. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Restorative Justice,
