Austria: Forwarding merchant stole works of art by Klimt and Kokoschka

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Klimt painting in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna (archive image)

Photo: A2918 epa apa Pfarrhofer/ dpa

Expressionism appealed to him, and a forwarding agent from Austria also took a liking to the art of the painter Gustav Klimt.

Such a favor that in 2012 he stole more than 30 works, including drawings and paintings by Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, but also sculptures and old Chinese bronzes, from a storage room.

The Viennese regional court sentenced the man to two years' imprisonment on probation.

The court saw it as proven that the 45-year-old had stolen the works of art worth 1.3 million euros.

According to the police, the man worked for a freight forwarding company.

This had rented storage space to a company specializing in the transport and storage of works of art, from which the works of art were stolen.

After the police found out about the man, they were able to secure almost all of the stolen goods.

Compensation Funds for Owners

The 45-year-old had pleaded guilty at the beginning of the hearing.

Although he took possession of the items, he said he did not know how valuable the works of art were.

However, he did not steal two missing works worth around 10,000 euros.

According to »Standard«, the defendant said in court that he had discovered the works while wandering around the camp and wanted to set them up in his home after stealing them.

The man was, so to speak, an art collector who could not legally acquire what he liked, said a police spokesman.

In addition to the suspended sentence, the man was also obliged to pay compensation to several owners of the works, according to "Standard".

Some of the items were damaged during transport or storage.

fek/AFP