Bavarian police have uncovered a major international art forgery ring involving fake works supposedly by masters such as Picasso, Rembrandt, Miró, Modigliani, and Frida Kahlo. Earlier this month, officers carried out coordinated raids across Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, seizing counterfeit artworks, documents, phones, and digital records.
At the center of the investigation is a 77-year-old German man accused of trying to sell forged paintings with the help of ten accomplices. The scheme came to light when he attempted to sell two fake Picasso pieces — including a portrait of Dora Maar — in a suspicious deal that took place out of the back of a car.
As investigators dug deeper, they discovered he had been offering around 20 other fake works, including a forged version of Rembrandt’s The Sampling Officials for an eye-watering SFr 120 million. The suspects even claimed their copy was the real one and that the painting in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum was a fake.
Other pieces, such as a painting of the Virgin and Child allegedly by Anthony van Dyck and two ceramic vases claimed to be original Picassos, were being sold for between €400,000 and €14 million.
Among the accomplices were an 84-year-old Swiss woman and a 74-year-old German man accused of providing fake certificates of authenticity. Both were arrested during the raids but later released. Police say the investigation is still ongoing.
