- Greece has passed a new law to combat art crime, including forgery, trafficking, and vandalism.
- Offenders now face fines up to €300,000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years.
- A new cultural ministry unit will focus on enforcement amid rising art crime cases.
After a spate of forgery scandals and acts of vandalism, Greece is overhauling how it polices art crime.
A new law, approved in January, will see the establishment of a special department within Greece’s Ministry of Culture to tackle offenses ranging from fake artworks to antiquities trafficking. Convicted offenders will be slapped with much harsher penalties, including fines of up to $350,000 for the worst offenses and prison sentences ranging from six months to up to 10 years. The crackdown—part of a wider effort across Europe to tackle art crime with specialized laws—is a significant and overdue improvement, according to experts, though the transnational nature of art crime will continue to pose enforcement challenges.
A statement released by the Greek culture ministry explained that art crimes had previously been “addressed under the criminal code’s general provisions on forgery and fraud.”
Its new, more robust bill is primarily intended to confront the issue of art forgery and antiquities trafficking. In 2024, an art forgery ring operating at least five studios in Thessaloniki for the production of fake art was busted by the authorities. Some of the fakes had been attributed to leading Greek modernists like Alekos Fassianos, Yannis Gaitis, and Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas. Just last month, the Greek dealer and T.V. personality Giorgos Tsagarakis was arrested on suspicion of selling fake artworks on live television.
Previously, penalties for art forgery were reserved for cases where a financial transaction had taken place. Now, they will apply to all acts associated with art fraud including “creating, counterfeiting, displaying, trafficking, and selling” forged works, the ministry said. Possession with “intent to distribute” has therefore been criminalized. These rules also apply to an artwork with falsified documents relating to its provenance, date, or condition.
A far-right Greek politician smashed four artworks to the floor at the National Gallery in Athens, claiming they were ‘blasphemous.’ Photo courtesy of National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Athens.
Forgers who acted independently could receive fines between €5,000 ($5,860) and €120,000 ($140,000) and face prison sentences of between six months and five years. In the case of organized criminal networks, or if the financial loss associated with the fraud is more than €120,000 ($140,000), these penalties will increase substantially to a €300,000 ($350,000) fine and 10 years in prison.
Art crime expert Richard Ellis welcomed the “positive” update to Greek law. He cautioned, however, that the global networks that underpin much art trafficking make it a particularly complex crime to tackle at the national level. This is due to “the differing laws of every country involved and the problem of evidence gathering in those countries,” he said in an email.
Ellis explained that international conventions are sometimes effective in prosecuting crimes of art trafficking, if the art in question falls within the definition of “cultural object.” These conventions are often a matter for civil law, “where the burden of proof is lower.”
“It is the responsibility of every country to ensure that their laws are adequate to deal with any crime,” Ellis said. “And to ensure that they are updated in line with current and future criminality.”
Greece’s law has also been designed to prevent the vandalism of cultural heritage, whether in museums or in public spaces. Last year, a far-right Greek politician entered the National Gallery in Athens and smashed four artworks that he deemed to be blasphemous. The perpetrator, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, was detained while the works’ author, contemporary artist Christoforos Katsadiotis, defended his right to free expression.