German police seize fake Picassos in multi-million euro forgery raid

Bavarian police have seized millions of euros worth of fake artwork purportedly featuring works by Picasso, Rembrandt and Kahlo in an operation spanning Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Authorities in Bavaria said the prime suspect is a 77-year-old German who faces conspiracy and fraud charges along with 10 of his alleged accomplices.

Investigators first became suspicious of the seventy-year-old ringleader when he attempted to sell two supposedly original paintings by Picasso on the art market.

He then wanted to sell Dutch old master Rembrandt’s famous oil painting De Staalmeesters for 120 million Swiss francs (£113 million), even though the original hung in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) said the fake De Staalmeesters, sometimes referred to as the Masters of the Clothiers’ Guild, belonged to an 84-year-old Swiss woman.

He is currently being investigated by the Amberg prosecutor’s office, BLKA and Swiss authorities after the fake part was seized in Switzerland.

At the time, police said after it was examined by an art expert: “This was a copy, as suspected, and not a lost masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn.”

The painting was seized during coordinated dawn raids in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein on Wednesday, October 15.

BLKA said that during the searches, a large number of suspected art forgeries, as well as “documents, records, mobile phones, storage media and cloud data” were found and seized.

Bavarian police said the main suspect was trying to sell a further 19 fake works allegedly by world-famous artists for between €400,000 (£349,000) and €14 million (£12.2 million).

These included copies of works by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, as well as Flemish old master Peter Paul Rubens, Italian sculptor Amedeo Modigliani and Spaniard Joan Miró.

He was assisted by a 74-year-old German man who “specifically prepared expert reports to verify the authenticity of the works of art.”

BLKA said that he and the main suspect were arrested on the day of the raids and were subsequently released on parole.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

“Among other things, all seized paintings will be examined in detail by experts and appraisers in the coming weeks,” police said. he said.