Russian serviceman accused of forging works by sculptor and artist Ernst Neiz...

Russian serviceman accused of forging works by sculptor and artist Ernst Neizvestny

The fact that the Main Military Investigative Directorate of Russia’s Investigative Committee charged Defense Ministry serviceman Maksim Koshkarev with illegal use of copyrighted objects and especially large-scale fraud was reported by Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.

According to investigators, from 2020 to 2026 Koshkarev, as part of a criminal group, produced at least 30 fake works by Neizvestny. During that time, he earned at least 90 million rubles from selling the counterfeit works to private collectors in Russia and abroad.

Searches as part of the criminal case were carried out at the Tretyakov Gallery, where investigators seized and examined 37 paintings and ten sculptures that had been displayed at the exhibition “The Era of Neizvestny.”

“Conclusive evidence has been collected that fully confirms Koshkarev’s involvement in this crime,” Petrenko noted.

Koshkarev’s property worth more than 128 million rubles has been seized, and the court imposed a preventive measure on him involving restriction of freedom.

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