Major Art Forgery Bust: German Police Target Counterfeit Works

Sat Oct 25 2025 11:53:42 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A significant operation by Bavarian police has led to the seizure of millions in fake artworks, including forgeries attributed to renowned artists like Picasso and Rembrandt. The probe reveals a complex web of fraud involving multiple countries.

Bavarian police have arrested a 77-year-old suspect and ten accomplices involved in a significant art forgery scheme, spanning Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The operation resulted in the seizure of counterfeit artworks, including pieces falsely claiming to be by famous artists. The investigation highlights ongoing challenges in art authenticity and the complexities of international art crime.

Bavarian police have seized millions of euros worth of forged art claiming to show works by Picasso, Rembrandt, and Kahlo in an extensive operation that spanned Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Authorities in Bavaria stated that the main suspect is a 77-year-old German man who, along with 10 alleged accomplices, faces charges of conspiracy and fraud.

Initial suspicions arose when the ringleader attempted to sell two supposedly original Picasso paintings on the art market.

This led to further scrutiny when he sought to sell De Staalmeesters, a famous oil painting by Rembrandt, for 120 million Swiss francs (£113m), despite the original existing at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) revealed that the forged De Staalmeesters, which is sometimes referred to as the Masters of the Clothmakers’ Guild, was owned by an 84-year-old Swiss woman, who is now under investigation by the Amberg public prosecutor’s office, the BLKA, and Swiss authorities after the counterfeit piece was confiscated in Switzerland.

Upon examination by an art expert, the police confirmed: It was, as suspected, a copy and not a lost masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn.

This painting was seized during a coordinated series of dawn raids that occurred across Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein on October 15. Law enforcement discovered and confiscated numerous suspected forgeries alongside related documents, records, mobile phones, storage media, and cloud data.

Furthermore, Bavarian police reported that the main suspect attempted to sell another 19 counterfeit works purporting to be created by famous artists, asking prices ranging from €400,000 (£349,000) to €14m (£12.2m). These alleged forgeries included imitations of works by Frida Kahlo, Peter Paul Rubens, Amedeo Modigliani, and Joan Miró.

Assisting him was a 74-year-old German man, who prepared expert reports specifically to confirm the authenticity of the artworks. Both he and the primary suspect were arrested during the raids but were conditionally released afterwards.

The investigation remains active, with all confiscated paintings scheduled for detailed examination by authorities and expert appraisers in the coming weeks.