The investigation into possible smuggling originated from information sent from Swiss customs about a 64-year-old traveler of Mexican nationality who was transporting the work inside a cardboard cylinder on board the Zurich-Ibiza commercial flight under “suspicious” circumstances, according to The authorities.
“Customs officials of the Tax Agency and agents of the Civil Guard, within the framework of a joint operation, have intervened for smuggling, on July 5 at the Ibiza airport, a drawing attributed to Pablo Picasso. The work, ‘ Trois personnages’ (1966), was found in the luggage of a traveler from Switzerland who was trying to introduce the work in Spain without declaring,” they point out in the statement.
Among the points of the fact they highlight that the traveler wanted to introduce the work in Spain saying that he had nothing to declare and then provided a handwritten invoice for 1,450 Swiss francs (about 1,538 dollars) dated July 7, that is, two days after the when the authorities found her. During the inspection of his luggage, the investigators also discovered the original invoice for 450,000 euros issued by a Zurich gallery where the work is identified as “Three characters” (1966).
Given the presence of both invoices and the suspicion of contraband, the officials considered that the Picasso drawing that has his signature is an original, since the amount invoiced by the gallery is adjusted to the market price, they indicate.
The alleged crime of smuggling is for not having declared from Switzerland, a non-customs territory of the European Union, a work of art that exceeds 150,000 euros, which if entered legally would have to “satisfy customs duties and VAT on imports, in addition to the administrative declaration obligations to which the merchandise was subject”, they explain.
The customs, after the intervention of the work, took steps that led to the examination by the expert in contemporary art and director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ibiza, which from its preliminary report indicates that it is an original work and its value of market would correspond to that of the gallery. But the certification of authenticity must be carried out by experts in the work of Picasso. Meanwhile, they report, the work is at the disposal of the Investigating Court 4 of Ibiza, in charge of the investigation for smuggling.
Source: Ambito
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