An art dealer accused of being behind counterfeits that defrauded London’s National Gallery and tricked Sotheby’s into parting with millions has been charged with the art world’s ‘crime of the century’.
Giuliano Ruffini, 77, is being sued over concerns about “newly discovered” works by the old masters.
The dealer and the collector could face trial after being charged in Paris with organized fraud, money laundering and forgery.
Mr Ruffini is accused of defrauding private art collectors, museums and auction houses, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris.
Giuliano Ruffini is being sued over concerns about ‘newly discovered’ works by the old masters
Pictured: Portrait of a man by the Dutch artist Frans Hals
Pictured: Painting by El Greco
It took eight years of research costing tens of millions of pounds to uncover the alleged counterfeit ring.
It was alleged to be Ruffini’s friend Pasquale Frongia, nicknamed Lino, an Italian painter known as the “Moriarty of Fakers,” who is believed to be the artist responsible for the forgeries. He has not been tried for forgery.
One of the forged works of art for which Mr Ruffini is believed to be responsible is a painting of Saint Jerome, purportedly by the 16th-century Italian artist Parmigianino. It sold at Sotheby’s for around £700,000 before being displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After experts allegedly discovered modern pigment in the paint, it was announced as a fake and Sotheby’s had to refund the price to the buyer.
The London auction house sold Portrait of a Man by Dutch artist Frans Hals, believing it to be a genuine painting.
In the photo: Pasquale Frongia
When it was shown at an auction house in Paris in 2008, the Louvre launched a £4.4 million fundraiser with the aim of adding it to its collection.
However, the museum did not get hold of the artwork. London-based art dealer Mark Weiss instead bought the painting from Mr Ruffini for around £2.6 million and then sold it in a private sale through Sotheby’s for £8.9 million.
The auction house again had to refund the buyer the full price of the painting, while Mr Ruffini argued that the pieces had been verified by experts.
Venus with a Veil, linked to German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, was sold to the Prince of Liechtenstein for £6.1 million in 2013. Two years later it turned out to be fake.
Mr. Ruffini and Mr. Frongia claim they are innocent. The dealer claims he was just lucky enough to find the lost works of Van Dyck, Correggio, Pieter Brueghel, Van Bassen and others.
In 2019, Mr Frongia was arrested in connection with a fake El Greco painting titled San Francisco, which was created in 2016.
Italy rejected an extradition request from France for lack of evidence. He was released on bail and the case was dropped.
Mr. Ruffini’s ability to continually find lost masterpieces had led to police suspicion.
In 2014, after French authorities received an anonymous letter linking him to counterfeiting, the police launched a formal investigation. In 2019, a French judge issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Ruffini, who was in Italy at the time. However, he managed to avoid extradition as he also defended tax charges in Italy.
Mr Ruffini was acquitted of the tax charges early this year. In November, Mr. Ruffini turned himself in. “He is determined to prove his innocence before a court in France,” said his lawyer Federico de Belvis at the Italian police station where he turned himself in.
There were reports that Mr Ruffini had left his home in Vetto Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy, but his lawyer said he was unaware he was wanted by French authorities.
“No one knocked on his door,” he said. “He came because he read about the order in the papers.”
Mr Ruffini is under house arrest and electronic surveillance in France.
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