Art forgery

Dozens of elderly expatriates from Georgia are accused of attempting to fraudulently obtain pension benefits from the Greek Social Solidarity Privileged Benefits Organization. Their trial was postponed on Tuesday until April.

A total of 85 defendants, two of whom have passed away, were indicted for forgery, attempted or completed fraud and embezzlement between 2018 and 2019.

An 80-year-old man was arrested for art forgery and fraud, police said on Tuesday.

Authorities have confiscated four forged paintings, six ancient antiquities and 11 Byzantine icons, during the operation.

Greek police arrested four people believed to be members of a criminal gang selling forged artworks, Byzantine images and small antiquities to buyers in the wider region of Attica and Europe. 

Police was notified by a person who fell victim to the fraud, having bought a fake painting for 50,000 euros.

A leading French art expert is to face trial on charges of forgery for building furniture that he falsely claimed to be from the 18th century and was sold at high prices to buyers who included the Palace of Versailles.

Five people on Crete are facing charges related to making up to €6 million by selling forged art works, attributed to well-known artists, to private individuals, collectors and auction houses overseas, following an investigation by police.

Two fraudsters have attempted to sell a fake painting, which they claimed to be 79 years old and coming from Iran, to an antiquity expert for 20 million Turkish Liras ($738,000).

Police have launched a crackdown on an organized crime group involved in human trafficking and document forgery across various regions in Greece.

So far, the operation involving approximately 200 police officers in Athens, Thessaloniki, and Ilia in the Peloponnese has led to the arrest of 36 suspects.

A Turkish court handed down jail terms to 131 members of the FETÖ following their trial, a judicial source said on Jan. 22.

A court in the capital Ankara sentenced former police intelligence chief Ramazan Akyürek to 45 years in prison, while his ex-deputy Gürsel Aktepe received 27 years.

A prosecutor has indicted 16 executives of Greek jeweler Folli Follie including its founder Dimitris Koutsolioutsos and his son George Koutsolioutsos.
The criminal prosecution includes allegations of running a criminal organization, forgery and stock manipulation involving members of the Koutsolioutsos family.

A painting by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt that was stolen in 1997 might have been discovered, hidden in a wall of the Italian gallery where it was taken from, officials said on Dec. 11.