TV presenter and antique dealer arrested in the Rubens case

The case concerning the stolen Rubens painting entitled: “The Calydonian Boar Hunt” is turning into a real-life thriller since police are close to figuring out how the piece of art reached our country from the Belgian museum it was stolen from, and how the Flemish master’s painting ended up in the hands of a TV presenter and an antique dealer.

So far, apart from the 40-year-old presenter who has been employed at two private television stations, a well-known Plaka antique dealer whose task it was to find potential buyers has also been arrested. The only common element linking the two arrestees is that the presenter resided over the antiquarian’s store.

The tip and the raid at the Glyfada hotel

During the early summer, private detective Giorgos Tsoukalis informed Police that there is specific information that the painting “The Calydonian Boar Hunt” had been circulating in Greece and was under black market “auction” for several million euros. Police managed to identify the presenter rumored to posess the painting. In phase two, they communicated with her and pretended to be buyers, making a rendez-vous.

The starting price was 6.000.000 euros and the meeting was set for a Glyfada hotel. Once the 65-year-old antique dealer and the 40-year-old presenter arrived in their car, police arrested them and seized the painting.

The matter under investigation is how the painting, stolen from the Brussels Royal Museum in 2001, ended up in the hands of the two suspects. The presenter claims that she had been facing financial difficulties and tried to sell the painting given to her by a close friend in Italy years ago. Police are now looking into the presenter’s connections and are trying to trace the path between now and the time of the theft.

On his part detective George Tsoukalas,  who played a key role in unraveling the case, stated to protothema.gr that “It was a very important case. My cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Police was excellent. Everything worked as it should, planned with extreme precision, and for that reason alone we are now successful in our mission.

The value of the painting is estimated between 25 and 35 million euros.