Painting by da Vinci liberated in fraud case
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The latest da Vinci code has been cracked with the discovery of one of the master’s missing paintings languishing in a Swiss bank.
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Isabella D’Este was recovered from a Swiss bank vault on Monday as a result of a seemingly separate investigation into tax and insurance fraud, according to media reports.
Police first learned about the painting in 2013 when an unnamed Italian lawyer tried to sell it for more than €95 million — the equivalent of $107.5 million — without proper licenses, reports state. But it was the investigation into tax and insurance fraud that eventually led police to the painting in Lugano, Switzerland.
The prosecutor’s office in Pesaro, Italy, said in a statement to media outlets that negotiations to sell the portrait of Isabella D’Este for around €120 million ($135.8 million) were at an advanced stage.
Investigators haven’t shared details about who owned the painting or how many people were under investigation.
The painting was initially attributed to da Vinci after being tested under fluorescent light, and it will reportedly undergo more tests to determine its authenticity when it arrives in Italy.
This isn’t the first da Vinci painting to go missing. The Mona Lisa was taken from the Louvre in Paris on Aug. 21, 1911.
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