Belarusian KGB foils attempts to sell paintings allegedly from Yanukovych's residence
MINSK. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) have detained a criminal group which tried to sell paintings by unidentified authors as the works of Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Konstantin Yuon and Wasily Kandinsky.
"The detained persons claimed that the works of art offered by them for sale were removed from the residence of Ukraine's ex-president, Viktor Yanukovych. The said individuals wanted 2 million euro for five paintings," KGB spokesman Artur Strekh told Interfax on Monday.
"The seized paintings are now undergoing art and other appraisals to determine their actual worth and establish their artistic, cultural and historical value. Preliminary data suggests that specialists assume that the paintings have a certain value but their worth is significantly lower than the one declared by the suspects," he said.
As a result of searches carried out at the suspects' home addresses, security officers found and seized over 100 old icons and paintings. According to experts' preliminary estimate, the majority of the seized paintings and works of graphic art were created using oil paint and on canvases dating back to the 18 - 19th centuries.
"The State Security Committee has opened a criminal case against the suspects under Article 233 part two (illegal entrepreneurial activity) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Final legal assessment to the actions of the said individuals will be given following the results of the criminal inquiry," the KGB spokesperson said.