Italian authorities have cracked a network of art forgers who made and sold fake works by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and others.

Italy’s art police are investigating 38 people being and have seized more than 2,000 works of art since beginning the operation in 2023.

Italian police have uncovered a pan-European forgery ring responsible for producing and selling counterfeit artworks attributed to dozens artists including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and Banksy.

Over 2,100 pieces of forged artwork were recovered, which were supposedly by Banksy, Salvador Dalí, Gustav Klimt, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, and were potentially worth about €200m (£165m). Thirty eight people across Italy, Spain, and Belgium have been arrested over the forgeries and its illegal sale.

Italian authorities say they have dismantled a network of European art forgers who made fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos and then tried to sell them with the help of complicit auction houses.

38 people across Europe are suspected of involvement in a sweeping scheme to create and sell fake works attributed to Banksy, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol, among other marquee 19th, 20th, and 21st century artists, Italian authorities revealed on Monday.

The fake art included forged works by Banksy, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. The operation, led by Pisa's Chief Prosecutor Teresa Angela Camelio, marks a major blow to art crime in Europe.

According to Italian officials, a criminal network operating across Europe has forged artworks by Banksy, Picasso, and Warhol. An international operation resulted in the seizure of more than 2,100 forged pieces across Italy,

The operation uncovered a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium who produced the works, said Eurojust, the European Union agency for judicial cooperation.

One of the biggest networks of art forgers copying works by Warhol, Banksy and Picasso has been broken up by the Italian authorities. View on euronews