A French court ordered Elton John to pay more than £15,000 in legal fees and compensation on April 30, 2003 after the collapse of his lawsuit against a French antique dealer who he had accused of selling him fake antique marble carvings.

Elton launched the lawsuit after experts said the four 18th-century mythological statues he had bought for around £250,000 were 20th century replicas probably worth no more than between £2,000 to £5,000.

He purchased the four 3.5ft high statues of Olympian Gods in 1996 from Jean Renoncourt, a Parisian antiques dealer, in the belief that they were sculpted by the Italian master Luigi Grossi in 1795.

But in April 2001, when Elton decided to re-value his artworks, for insurance reasons, two experts denounced the statues as fakes. In his report, the renowned specialist, Simon Yates, noted that the appearance of many similar carved statues on the market in the previous five years cast doubt on the authenticity of the statues.

But the court said that Mr Yates's report amounted to "mere allegations" and that no independent expert assessment had been requested.

M Renoncourt said: "In my view, Christies are behind this," suggesting that it was no mere coincidence that both Mr Yates and Elton's lawyer had worked for the British auction house.

"It's an open secret that whenever a millionaire starts spending money on antiques in France, the Anglo-Saxon auction houses try to discredit what they buy here to lure them back home."

M Renoncourt is suing for damages. Elton's lawyer expects his client to appeal.

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