Greece has enacted a comprehensive new law to combat art crime, establishing a specialized unit within the Ministry of Culture to target forgery, antiquities trafficking, and vandalism. The legislation introduces significantly harsher penalties, including fines up to €300,000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years, while expanding the scope of criminal activity to include the mere possession of forged works with intent to distribute.
This overhaul marks a shift from treating art fraud under general criminal codes to a specialized framework designed to protect Greece's cultural heritage. By criminalizing the falsification of provenance and addressing organized crime networks, the Greek government aims to deter high-profile scandals—such as recent forgery rings in Thessaloniki and acts of political vandalism at the National Gallery—though experts warn that the transnational nature of these crimes remains a significant hurdle for national enforcement.