A plot spanning three countries to sell alleged forgeries of paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo for huge sums of money was arrested, police said on Friday.
The main suspect, a 77-year-old German, allegedly attempted to sell 20 fake paintings, which also included alleged works by former Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens, Spanish artist Joan Miró and Italian sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. Bavarian police said ten accomplices helped him.
Investigators first suspected the septuagenarian when he tried to sell two supposedly original paintings by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso on the art market. CBS News partner BBC News reported. One of the artworks featured a portrait of Dora Maar, a French photographer, painter and poet who was Picasso’s most famous muse.
Fariha Farooqui/REUTERS
Police said the man wanted to sell De Staalmeesters, a famous oil painting by Rembrandt, for 120 million Swiss francs ($150 million), even though the original painting was hanging in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The copy, believed to date back to the 20th century, was found in the possession of an 84-year-old Swiss woman, who is also under investigation.
“It was, as suspected, a copy and not a lost masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn,” police said after an art expert examined the copy, the BBC reported.
The paintings were offered for between 400,000 euros and about 130 million euros ($465,000 and $150 million), police said in a statement.
Fariha Farooqui/REUTERS 
Police carried out searches last week in several cities in southern Germany, as well as in Berlin, several parts of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, they said.
The main suspect and another German, 74 years old, accused of preparing reports to confirm the authenticity of the works, were arrested during police raids. They have since been released on bail.
“Among other things, all confiscated paintings will be examined in detail by experts and appraisers in the coming weeks,” the police reported, according to the BBC.
