The scammers promised to arrange an exhibition for the Ukrainian artist in Spain, and then stole 101 paintings from him
The fraudster, who promised to organize an exhibition of paintings by the famous Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk in Spain, said that he exported the paintings through Poland and would not say where they are.
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This was announced by Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Mikhail Apostol on your social media page.
In total, 101 paintings were stolen from Ivan Marchuk in this way.
According to the minister's adviser, the man who took the paintings abroad spent a long time ingratiating himself with the artist.
“The date of the exhibition at the Prado Museum (Madrid) was first “set” for September 3, 2016, then “postponed” to October, then to November. And from mid-December he stopped answering the artist’s phone calls. I responded in early January when I felt that the foreman was being advised to contact law enforcement. The rhetoric has not changed, but there are notes of threats: “I spent money on projects, you’ll get it back,” and in response to the artist’s question: “Where are the paintings?” stated: “Where they should be, in Spain. Do you need an exhibition or paintings? I took them out through Poland and under threat of death I will not tell you the address,” Apostol said.
He also noted that the man asked famous people for money, allegedly to organize projects.
“At the same time, he worked with wealthy famous people in Ukraine, convincing him that he was a close friend of the artist and anniversary projects needed funds. And they gave money. But the events were organized by sincere fans based on their own enthusiasm and understanding of the significance of Marchuk’s work for Ukraine,” he said.
The apostle added that in connection with the loss of the paintings, the police opened criminal proceedings, and the progress of the investigation is being monitored by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov.
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