French auction workers convicted in vast theft scam
A Paris court has convicted two auctioneers and 33 other people working for France's biggest auction house in a vast, long-running scam to steal thousands of valuable items worth millions of euros.
Stolen works included a Courbet painting, Chagall and Matisse lithographs, involved about 50 people
A Paris court has convicted two auctioneers and 33 other people working for France's biggest auction house in a vast, long-running scam to steal thousands of valuable items worth millions of euros.
The works included a Courbet painting, Chagall and Matisse lithographs, and a 2.08-carat diamond. The case involved about 50 people who worked at Hotel Drouot, the oldest and most famous French auction house.
One auctioneer was handed a 12-month suspended prison term and a 30,000-euro ($43,300 CDN) fine, and the other an 18-month suspended prison term and a 36,000-euro fine. Two auctioneers were acquitted.