Police in Rome have seized 71 paintings this week, which they say are at the centre of a workshop that makes forged artworks. The fakes included paintings allegedly by Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol, Banksy and many others. It comes just a few months after Italian police dismantled a Europe-wide forgery network that placed 38 people under investigation.
The suspects allegedly negotiated with various auction houses to sell the forged artworks. They had also reportedly organised two false Banksy exhibitions. The latest discovery in Rome came after a year of investigations, which also uncovered six workshops across Italy and Europe. More than 2000 works have been seized, with an estimated market value of over €200 million (AU$329.3 million).
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The battle against art fraud is growing in complexity as investigators and criminals attempt to harness the powers of AI. The latest bust from Italian police represents one of history’s largest disruptions to an art forgery network. Only Canada’s Norval Morrisseau forgery ring comes close, seizing approximately 5000 fake artworks attributed to Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau in 2023.
