Fraud case falls apart as paintings proved real

BERLIN• One of the biggest art fraud cases of recent years has collapsed after a German court ruled that a $ 4 billion collection of paintings seized by the authorities as suspected forgeries is almost certainly genuine.

Itzhak Zarug, a 70- yearold Israeli art dealer arrested by German police and held for three years accused of running an international fraud ring, was cleared of all charges. He was released when doubts about the strength of the case began to emerge.

All but three of Zarug’s collection of 1,800 Russian modernist paintings will be returned to him.

In a deeply embarrassing judgment for the German authorities, the court ruled that a five-year international investigation had found no evidence to back claims the paintings were forged.

Zarug built up one of the world’s leading collections of Russian avant- garde paintings by hunting down lost works after the fall of communism.

At the time there was little interest in artists such as Marc Chagall and Kazimir Malevich and Zarug was able to buy works for as little as $25.

Prices have risen steeply since then. In 2008 a Malevich painting sold for $60 million.

Estimates of the value of Zarug’s collection vary widely because of the doubt cast by the trial, but experts said it could be worth as much as $4 billion.

Exhaustive analysis of the paintings was undertake ninth eU. K ., France, Israel, Spain and Switzerland, and more than 10 expert witnesses testified in court.