A FUGITIVE Italian art dealer who skipped bail over four years ago was finally re-arrested and brought before a Cypriot court yesterday.
The 44-year old fugitive, suspected among other things of issuing fake Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) in November 2004, was located in Zurich, arrested and then extradited to Cyprus under an international arrest warrant issued four years ago.
The suspect appeared before the Limassol Court yesterday. He is facing 62 charges of forging certificates of authenticity, circulating forgeries, obtaining money under false pretences, theft from a representative and non-disclosure.
It is alleged that the suspect appeared at a Limassol auction-house in November 2004 posing as an art valuer “with 15 years experience at the Vatican”. He proceeded to value a number of artworks to the tune of several hundred thousands of Cyprus pounds. In a subsequent auction held in Limassol, the suspect provided COAs supposedly issued by the Italian firm he represented for 111 paintings by famous artists such as El Greco, Titian and Pissarro.
The suspect is charged with having obtained CY£158,622 (€272,402) from another auction he organised himself, allegedly selling artworks with fake COAs to well-known businessmen from Limassol and elsewhere, one of whom paid almost CY£140,000 (€240,422) for five canvasses.
The alleged fraud was discovered in April 2005, when the owner of an auction-house and other customers of the suspect reported him to the authorities. Suspicion had been aroused by his willingness to issue a COA for a Cypriot earthenware vessel supposedly dating from the 14th century, when in fact the Antiquities Department established that the vessel was just 50 years old.
On investigation, Limassol police determined that the COAs issued by the suspect had been printed locally. The dealer was arrested while still in Cyprus. However, after being charged and released on bail, he fled the country, allegedly via the occupied north.
When Limassol CID officers took custody of the suspect in Zurich a few days ago, he had just €6 in his pocket and was carrying a thick medical file. At his preliminary court hearing yesterday, the suspect denied all charges and made an application for legal aid.
At the request of the State Prosecutor, the court remanded the suspect in custody pending trial, saying that this is the only way to ensure he attends his trial on June 4.
[SIDEBAR]
A forged Certificate of Authenticity can be used to sell outright fakes or to misrepresent existing works of art as being more important or valuable than they actually are. Many people believe that art with a COA is automatically genuine, but that’s not necessarily the case. From the legal point of view, anyone – qualified or not – can write a COA.
A legitimate COA must contain specific details about the artwork, such as its exact title and dimensions, when and how it was produced, by whom, and the names of reference books or similar resources that contain either specific or relevant information about the artwork and/or the artist. It should also state the qualifications of the individual or entity that authored the certificate.
