The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow was investigated yesterday after a man with fake provenance was detained attempting to leave the country with a set of works valued at almost $50,000.  Initial reports speculate that Russian security may have discovered a plot in which wealthy collectors abroad are paying to smuggle the works with forged documents.  “The investigators have already left, and while the investigation is ongoing we will not comment further,” a representative of the gallery told The Guardian. (more…)

A trove of artworks valued at over $4.5 million has been discovered in Brazil, hidden away in shipping crates sent over from the United States.  The works, among them pieces by contemporary artists Os Gemeos and Sergio de Camargo were among the possessions of a Brazilian woman who authorities believe was seeking to avoid export taxes. (more…)

With the Syrian civil war raging around them, a group of artists have smuggled their works out of the country for a survey exhibition in London, risking life and limb to get their works abroad for a show at P21 Gallery in Euston, opening this week.  “I travelled to Lebanon and Jordan twice to take work smuggled over the border,” said Fadi Haddad of support group Mosaic Syria. “The artists are worried that they could be traced if the work is stopped at a checkpoint. Some haven’t signed their work. The security police wouldn’t understand their message but they’d still see it as a danger. One artist went to Lebanon to remake her work just to avoid trouble from the authorities.”   (more…)

In the past two years, U.S. authorities have seized over $100 Million in art and antiques from Subhash Kapoor, a 64-year-old American citizen accused as one of the biggest smuggles of ancient antiquities and art in the world.  Kapoor has sold or donated ancient art works to a number of prominent museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and LACMA, and is currently being held in India as a suspect in an international smuggling ring.  The United States is also seeking its own charges for the dealer.  “It’s one of our most significant antiquities and artifacts investigations that we’ve conducted,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes says. (more…)