Thirty-eight people have been indicted following an unprecedented operation supported by Eurojust against a criminal network for forging over 2 000 works of contemporary art. A year-and-a-half-long investigation by Italian authorities, in cooperation with Belgian, French and Spanish counterparts, led to the dismantling of the network, which would have caused economic damage of EUR 200 million.
The fake art recovered by the authorities included forged works by famous artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí. Investigations into the fake works revealed a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium. Once the fake works of art were produced, the network would work with several complicit auction houses in Italy to sell the pieces. To ensure the credibility of the auctions, exhibitions were organised throughout Italy and a catalogue of the art was published. Catching the forgers made it possible to avoid the works being auctioned off at prices close to the original works by the real artists.
The investigation into the network began in March 2023, when Italian authorities found around 200 fake works of art during a search order against an entrepreneur. This led investigators to monitor e-commerce platforms of auction houses to find similar works for sale and the sellers of these pieces. The investigation identified two forgers and two painting workshops that were used to produce the fake works of art.
As the investigation uncovered a European forgery network, cross-border judicial cooperation was initiated at Eurojust. Eurojust ensured that three European Investigation Orders were issued against six suspects in Spain, France and Belgium. The searches led to the discovery of forgery workshops and the seizure of 1 000 fake works of art and more than 500 forged certificates and stamps of authenticity.
The investigation led to charges against 38 suspects in the forgery network for conspiracy to forge and deal in contemporary art. Experts from the Italian authorities confirmed that the works of art were not originals and estimated the economic damage at approximately EUR 200 million if the pieces had been auctioned. By preventing these works from reaching the market, the authorities averted a major disruption to the art auction industry.
In agreement with the authorities involved and with the support of Eurojust, all the fake works of art and items seized in Spain, France and Belgium have been handed over to the Italian authorities for further analysis.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
- Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pisa, Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC) – Unit of Rome
- Belgium: Investigative Judge of the Court of Walloon Brabant: Local Police of La Mazerine
- France: Judicial Court Paris; Central Office for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC)
- Spain: Juzgado Instruccion 1 of Olot (Girona); Guardia Civil
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union