He discreetly stole works of art from a warehouse: a 45-year-old Austrian logistician was sentenced in Vienna on Monday for having amassed loot worth an estimated 1.3 million euros.
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The defendant, who "
confessed to some of his misdeeds
", was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, the vice-president of the court, Christina Salzborn, told AFP.
He is suspected of having stolen more than thirty works of art between 2012 and 2013, according to the indictment, including ancient Chinese bronzes and drawings and paintings by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, two of the most famous artists. renowned in the country.
Hiding in her parents' attic
This employee of a logistics company, which rented premises intended for the storage of works, acted without arousing suspicion.
The culprit was only discovered last year when he approached London-based stolen art register Art Loss Register (ALR) to find out if a cup dating from the Western Zhou of the 11th century, was among the wanted items.
While it is "
rather rare
" to be contacted by the thief himself, the fact that the request came from an unknown customer using a "
suspicious
" email address prompted the organization to contact the Austrian police, explained to AFP Amélie Ebbinghaus, director of ALR.
Investigators were thus put on the trail of the man tried on Monday and discovered works adorning his home, while others were hidden in the attic of his parents.
"
He was, so to speak, an art collector who could not afford by legal means what he was passionate about
" and therefore helped himself to the warehouse "
to which he had access
", commented Markus Dittrich, door-keeper. word of the Vienna police.
With the exception of a few pieces reported missing in 2013 by auction houses, "
many works had not been classified as stolen, their owners believing them to still be in storage
", he added. .
