European fake art network with Banksys, Warhols and Modiglianis discovered in Italy

ROME – Italian authorities say a network of European art forgers who painted fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos and then tried to sell them to unsuspecting buyers with the help of complicit auction houses has been dismantled.

Thirty-eight people have been studied, including six in Spain, France and Belgium. Italian authorities say the network could have caused 200 million euros in economic damage by flooding the art market with fake works.

Italy’s Culture Ministry said Monday that seizures in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium have yielded 2,100 fake works attributed to more than 30 famous artists, including Andy WarholAmedeo Modigliani, Banksy, Pablo PicassoJoan Mirò, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Gustav Klimt.

The operation uncovered a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium who produced the works Eurojustthe European Union Agency for Judicial Cooperation. Fake Warhols and Banksys were the most commonly counterfeited, and the forgeries were exhibited at shows in Mestre and Cortona, Italy, with a published catalogue, authorities said.

Eurojust said the network was able to use complicit auction houses in Italy that issued counterfeit certificates and stamps of authenticity, around 500 of which were also seized.

The investigation began in March 2023 when Italian authorities discovered 200 counterfeits during the search of the home of a Pisa businessman, prompting them to monitor auction house e-commerce sites to see if others were involved in the network.

Those arrested are accused of conspiring to forge and traffic contemporary art, Eurojust said.