Two forged Pablo Picasso prints from his Suite Vollard series, sold at a Stuttgart auction house, have been recovered as part of an international police operation led by Italian authorities. The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) announced that an Italian national, believed to be a professional art restorer, is suspected of consigning four forged works to the auction house over several years. Two prints were recovered—one in Germany's Rhineland region and one in Austria—while two others were seized before delivery. The operation, code-named "Minotauro bis," began in 2022 and has led to the seizure of 104 fake contemporary artworks, the dismantling of a forgery laboratory in Rome, and the freezing of bank accounts and vehicles. Forgers used complex methods including fake watermarks, scanned images, and aging paper with coffee or tea.
This case matters because it highlights the growing sophistication of art forgery networks and the critical role of international police cooperation in protecting the art market. The forged Picasso prints, which could have sold for tens of thousands of euros each, were removed from circulation before causing significant financial harm to buyers and undermining trust in auction houses. The involvement of Eurojust and multiple European countries demonstrates that cross-border collaboration is essential to combat art crime. The recovery also underscores the vulnerability of even well-known auction houses to expertly produced forgeries, and the importance of expert authentication, such as that provided by the Picasso Museum Münster, in identifying fakes.