German Police Break Up Ring of Russian Art Forgers

June 13, 2013

BERLIN — German police said Thursday that they have broken up a multimillion-euro international forgery ring that specialized in producing bogus works attributed to Russian avant-garde artists including Vasily Kandinsky.

Two suspects were arrested at their homes in the western German city of Wiesbaden as alleged leaders of a group of six forgery artists, while searches of businesses, homes and art galleries were carried out Wednesday and Thursday in at least six German cities as well as in Israel and Switzerland, federal police said in a statement.

Since 2005, the ring is believed to have produced and sold more than 400 faked paintings as "previously unknown works" attributed to artists such as Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov for "four- to seven-figure euro sums" each, they said.

(AP)

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue