2 Greeks charged regarding stolen Rubens work

[September 03, 2011]  ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Court officials say two Greeks who were arrested during an operation that recovered a stolen 17th-century Pieter Paul Rubens painting have been charged with money laundering.

The two, identified only as a man aged 64 and a woman aged 40, were remanded Friday pending their appearance before a magistrate. The officials said they were not considered suspects with the theft itself.

Greece's Culture Ministry said "The Hunt for the Caledonian Wild Boar" Rubens painting was stolen in 2001 from an unidentified Belgian museum. The ministry said it would provide further details about the case in the coming days.

A Rubens work with that title was stolen in 2001 from the Fine Arts Museum in Ghent, Belgium, by three masked robbers.

The two Greeks now in custody were arrested in Athens on Thursday.

[Associated Press]

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