The Historical Heritage Group of the National Police Unit attached to the Valencian Community has intervened in 34 false works of art by renowned artists so far this year. All these canvases were being sold on the fraudulent market in different capitals of Spain for a value close to half a million euros.
Most of the intervened pieces correspond to important Valencian artists such as Joaquín Sorolla, Mariano Benlliure, José Benlliure, José Segrelles and Manuel Hernández Mompó, although there are also other works attributed to artists of great international prestige such as Tiziano or Salvador Dalí.
In the course of these operations, up to 64 people have been investigated for alleged crimes of fraud and against intellectual property. The locations and interventions of the Police of the Generalitat have taken place in Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Rubielos de Mora (Teruel), and have had the collaboration of the Historical Heritage Brigade of Madrid , Police Headquarters of Valencia, Catalonia, Aragon, Western Andalusia and Asturias.
For the identification of the works and their corresponding authorship, we have had the collaboration of experts from the San Pío V Museum in Valencia, technicians from the General Directorate of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, the Valencian Institute of Conservation, Restoration and Research (IVCR I), as well as foundations and specialists.
