on Toshareproject.it - curated by Bruce Sterling
https://hyperallergic.com/965760/italy-seizes-over-2000-artworks-linked-to-art-forgery-scheme/
Italian police have seized over 2,100 counterfeit artworks and identified 38 people connected to an international art forgery scheme in a 22-month investigation starting in Pisa. The seized fakes, marketed as works by Banksy, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Pablo Picasso, among others, could have sold for over €200 million (~$212.5 million) if they had remained on the market without interference.
Per a press release from the Carabinieri, Italy’s main law enforcement agency, the investigation began in March of 2023, when its Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage seized some 200 pieces of counterfeit contemporary art from a Pisan entrepreneur, including a caryatid drawing falsely attributed to Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Accordingly, police named the investigation “Operation Cariatide.”
The initial seizure led to the constant monitoring of various Italian auction house websites to track similar works for sale that could have been forged or lot entries that could lead to the counterfeit suppliers….