Prosecutors seized 71 canvases and say evidence suggests art restorer was behind frauds

A clandestine workshop has been discovered in Rome where fakes of paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, were produced before being sold online.

The discovery was made in a house in a district in the north of the city by a team from Rome’s public prosecutors’ office and the forgeries unit of Italy’s art squad, which said in a statement that they have gathered “important evidence” to suggest that an art restorer was at the centre of the racket.