Pasquale Frongia, the 65-year-old painter who investigators say is the painter who executed a spectacular series of alleged Old Master forgeries, was jailed on Tuesday June 27 in his hometown of Emilia in northern Italy. Italy, according to the local press.
A judicial source in Paris says the arrest of Frongia, nicknamed “Lino”, follows a new European arrest warrant issued by French investigating judge Aude Burési. She first issued the warrant in 2019, but the court in Bologna, Italy, ruled the charges against Frongia were inconsistent and ruled against the painter’s transfer to France.
In December 2022, Giuliano Ruffinithe alleged mastermind behind the sale of many fakes for millions of euros, was brought from Émilie to Paris, where he was charged with collective fraud and money laundering.
Ruffini, 78, was released on 1 million euro bail and placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring in Paris. His son Mathieu, who was heard by investigators and the judge last May, was also indicted for money laundering. He is allowed to return to Emilia, with bail set at €200,000.
All three men have always denied any wrongdoing. Giuliano Ruffini says that it was the experts, curators and dealers who attributed the paintings to great masters such as Brueghel, Cranach, Parmigianino, Frans Hals, Guido Reni or Bronzino, not him. He also challenged the forensic report which found the paintings to be recent fakes.
Mathieu Ruffini denied having any knowledge of his father’s affairs. However, according to court records made public in Italy and France, the investigation shows that he made several transfers to Lino Frongia, including a payment of $740,000 from a Swiss UBS account in 2007. In the Bologna court, Frongia said these were payments for sales. and the restorations he had undertaken for Giuliano Ruffini.
