Fake art network involving 2,100 forged Banksys, Warhols, and Picassos uncovered in Italy

A network of European art forgers, who painted thousands of fake artworks and tried to sell them, has been uncovered by Italian authorities.

Thirty-eight people have been placed under investigation including six in Spain, France and Belgium, officials said on Tuesday.

The network allegedly attempted to sell the fake artworks to unsuspecting buyers with the help of complicit auction houses, they added.

Italian officials said the network could have done 200 million euros ($212 million) in economic damage by flooding the art market with fake works.

Italy's culture ministry said the seizures in Italy, France and Belgium uncovered 2,100 fake works attributed to more than 30 famed artists including Andy Warhol, Amedeo Modigliani, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mirò, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Gustav Klimt.

Fake Warhols and Banksys were the most commonly forged with fakes being exhibited at shows in Mestre and Cortana, in Italy.

According to Eurojust, the European Union agency for judicial cooperation, the network was able to use complicit auctions houses in Italy that issued forged certificates and stamps of authenticity with some 500 of which were also seized.

An investigation began in March 2023 when Italian authorities discovered 200 fakes during the search of the home of a Pisa businessman which prompted them to monitor e-commerce sites of auction houses to see if others were involved in the network.

Those arrested are accused of conspiracy to forge and deal in contemporary art, Eurojust said.

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