Konstantia Dimoglidou spoke about the process that led authorities to the arrest of Georgios Tsagarakis. The Hellenic Police spokesperson, in statements to SKAI, explained that the case began in early March when the first complaint was filed. “Very recently, the Organized Crime Unit had received a complaint about this individual, specifically on March 6th the first complaint came to the Hellenic Police, which apparently came from people who know about art and ancient objects,” Konstantia Dimoglidou initially said.
Dimoglidou: Georgios Tsagarakis must answer to authorities how the ancient artifacts came into his possession
As she mentioned, even before the video with the 1745 Gospel was made public, there had been anonymous communication from a citizen to the police, followed by a formal complaint questioning the authenticity of works allegedly handled by the accused. “Someone contacted the police anonymously and then we had a formal complaint that perhaps some of the works this person handles and promotes are fake. It was someone who obviously knew about artworks to understand details, as something like this is difficult even for police officers serving in the unit, although they now have tremendous experience and can recognize the forgery of a work. Of course, this process is done with a specialist expert who certifies the forgery or authenticity of a work, and naturally a specialist expert for the ancient objects found in his possession to substantiate the crime of antiquities trafficking.”
“He has already been brought before the investigator along with another person who allegedly was used to hide the Gospel. He has already been referred, and we are waiting to see what he will claim in his defense,” she added.
Ms. Dimoglidou pointed out that so far the gallerist has not told police how the items came into his possession. “It’s something he will have to answer to the investigating authorities – how the ancient objects came into his possession, as well as what was the process followed with the fake artworks found in one of the spaces that were searched,” she added.
Yesterday, criminal charges were filed against Georgios Tsagarakis for a series of felony acts. The gallerist, who denies the charges, was given time to present his defense on Tuesday.
