Alex Trelinski
THE Policia Nacional have seized three fake paintings by Pablo Picasso and one by Benjamin Palencia that were going to be sold for €13.5 million.
Officers from the Historical Heritage division based in the Valencian Community along with colleagues in Albacete have arrested five people.
Investigations started earlier this year with the detainees being charged with fraud and intellectual property crimes.
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All of those arrested claimed that the bogus works were all inherited from family members.
The Historical Heritage division confirmed from a group representing Picasso’s family that none of the three paintings attributed to him were genuine.
In fact one of the detainees went to the group- Succession Picasso- in June 2016 and the authenticity appraisal was negative.
Despite that, the fake work was being marketed for €10 million.
Meanwhile, the great-nephew of Benjamin Palencia told the police that the artist’s work was not genuine and that his signature on it was also bogus.
