Italian police are questioning two Romanians over the theft in 2002 of a Marc Chagall painting from a yacht. Police in Turin, Italy, have only just recovered the painting, valued at around EUR 1.2 million, which was stolen around 10 years ago while the yacht was being refitted.

The yacht's American owner had bought the Chagall painting Le Nu au Bouquet in 1998 and kept it on his boat. Between 2002 and 2003, the yacht was moored in Savona, Italy for refitting and repairs, which is when the theft is believed to have taken place. The thieves swapped the painting for a copy, which only came to light later after the owner's death when his son had the Chagall assessed by experts.

Three people, including two Romanians aged 39 and 41, who worked at the time on the yacht, as well as the owner of an art gallery in Bologna, are being investigated for theft and fencing stolen goods, according to the Italian media.

In 2012, Italian Carabinieri connected an art gallery in Bologna with the theft and sale of art works. This investigation in turn led to the stolen Chagall painting, which former footballer and manager Roberto Bettega of Juventus bought in good faith in 2003 for EUR 1.2 million. The painting has been in Bettega's possession ever since, who did not know anything about the painting's theft.

editor@romania-insider.com