Spanish Man Busted With Fake Da Vinci en Route to Milan

A Spanish man was arrested in France while attempting to smuggle a counterfeit Leonardo da Vinci painting to Milan, Italy. The man, traveling with the fake artwork in his vehicle, was intercepted at the Modane border post, 75 miles from Milan. An expired export permit stated the painting, titled "Portrait Giacomo Trivultio," was valued at $1.43 million, but experts from the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid deem it an early 20th-century imitation worth only $3,300 to $5,500.

"[The work] has no connection to Da Vinci and has been made with fraudulent intent."

— Museo Nacional del Prado experts

Sources:

• National Police of Spain - https://policia.es\ _es/comunicacion\ _prensa\ _detalle.php?ID=16298
• Museo Nacional del Prado - https://www.museodelprado.es/