German police uncover forgery gang suspected of forging Rembrandts and Picassos
German police say they have busted an international counterfeiting ring that was trying to sell fakes to unsuspecting collectors for millions of dollars. Scammers claimed the works were by artists including Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo.
The Bavarian State Criminal Police (BLKA) said an unnamed 77-year-old German man from Bavaria was the suspected principal offender. Investigators believe he had help from 10 associates.
The ringleader was arrested after trying to sell two paintings purported to be authentic by Picasso, one of which was a portrait of the Spanish artist’s muse Dora Maar. Original Picasso works fetch high prices at auction. Just last week, the Drouot auction house in Paris sold a Maar painting for 32 million euros (approximately $37 million).
German police gave the investigation, which began earlier this year, the codename “Dora Maar.” They conducted searches in cities across the country, including Schwandorf, Erlangen, Wissen, Dresden, Munich, Bad Harzburg, Stuttgart and Berlin. Suspected counterfeits have also been discovered in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. About 100 police officers and three prosecutors were involved in the operation.
The main suspect is also accused of trying to sell Rembrandt replicas Syndix (1662) $150 million. The work shows members of Amsterdam’s 17th-century cloth manufacturers’ guild, and the original is now in the collection of the Dutch capital’s famous Rijksmuseum. German police said the fake, possibly a 20th-century copy, was owned by an 84-year-old Swiss woman. She is currently under investigation by Swiss police.
Among the 19 other fakes the culprits are accused of trying to sell are paintings purportedly by Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Amedeo Modigliani and Joan Miro. His asking price is between $460,000 and $16 million.
A 74-year-old man from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been charged as an accomplice in falsifying expert reports to prove the authenticity of the forgeries, investigators said.
“The investigation is ongoing. Among other things, all confiscated paintings will be examined in detail by experts and appraisers in the coming weeks,” BLKA said in a statement.
