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Thirty-eight people have been placed under investigation,
including six in Spain, France and Belgium. Italian authorities
say the network could have done 200 million euros ($212 million)
in economic damage by flooding the art market with fake works.
Italy’s culture ministry said Monday the seizures in Italy,
France, Spain and Belgium netted 2,100 fake works attributed to
more than 30 famed artists, including Andy Warhol, Amedeo
Modigliani, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mirò, Francis Bacon,
Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Gustav Klimt.
The operation uncovered a network of forgers in Spain, France
and Belgium who produced the works, said Eurojust, the European
Union agency for judicial cooperation. Fake Warhols and Banksys
were the most commonly forged and the fakes were exhibited at
shows in Mestre and Cortona, Italy, with a catalogue published,
the authorities said.
Eurojust said the network was able to use complicit auction
houses in Italy that issued forged certificates and stamps of
authenticity, some 500 of which were also seized.
The investigation began in March 2023 when Italian authorities
discovered 200 fakes during the search of the home of a Pisa
businessman that prompted them to monitor e-commerce sites of
auction houses to see if others were involved in the network.
Those arrested are accused of conspiracy to forge and deal in
contemporary art, Eurojust said.
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