Police in Italy say they have busted a major European criminal network forging and selling artworks by some of the biggest names in modern art.
More than 2,100 forged artworks were recovered, including works attributed to artists Banksy, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso.
Thirty-eight people were arrested over the forgeries, which carried a potential sale value of about €200m (£165m; $213m).
Six forgery workshops were uncovered in the sting, including two in Tuscany, one in Venice and the rest elsewhere in Europe, Italian prosecutors added.
Those arrested face charges of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, forgery and illegal sale of artworks, the Carabinieri cultural squad and the Pisa prosecutors’ office said in a joint statement on Monday.
The statement said authorities were tipped off in 2023 after they seized about 200 fake pieces from the collection of a businessman in Pisa, including a copy of a drawing by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani.
That find birthed the name of the operation, Cariatide.
Fake artworks attributed to more than 30 famed artists were seized in raids carried out in Italy, Spain and Belgium, the statement said.
Other artists impersonated by the network included Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mirò, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Piet Mondrian.
Pisa Chief Prosecutor Teresa Angela Camelio said experts believe the operation is “the biggest act of protection” of Banksy’s estate.
It resulted in fake artworks attributed to more than 30 famed artists being seized in raids carried out in Italy, Spain and Belgium, the statement said.
Other artists impersonated by the network include Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mirò, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Piet Mondrian.
The Banksy Archive, chief prosecutor of Pisa, Teresa Angela Camelio said, attributed the operation as the biggest act of protection of Banksy’s work”.
Banksy is one of the world’s most famous artists, but despite his global following, his identity remains, officially at least, unknown and this is not the first time his artwork has attracted criminals.
In September, two thieves were arrested and charged over the theft of his famed Girl with Balloon piece from a central London art gallery.
Banksy’s art, which tends to be graffitied by the artist on public buildings, at times does not remain in tact for long.
A recent urban jungle collection, which popped up over a series of days across London, saw its elephant defaced with stripes, wolf appear to be stolen within hours, cat taken down, and a tag spray painted over the rhino.
Warhol’s work, too, has fallen foul of criminals of late. Earlier this month two of his artworks were stolen during an overnight break-in at a gallery in the Netherlands.
