Joint operation between the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard

• The traveler who carried the work tried to introduce it into Spain without declaring it and, at the request of Customs, provided a handwritten invoice for 1,500 Swiss francs.
• After an inspection of the luggage, investigators discovered another invoice from a Zurich gallery, worth 450,000 francs, which identifies the work as 'Trois personnages', from 1966.
• The authorities in charge of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts have considered, on a preliminary basis and pending more exhaustive reports, that the work is original and that the price charged by the gallery is in line with the market price.

July 18, 2022 .- Customs officials from the Tax Agency and agents of the Civil Guard, within the framework of a joint operation, have intervened for smuggling, on July 5 at the Ibiza airport, a drawing attributed to Pablo Picasso. The work, 'Trois personnages' (1966), was found in the luggage of a traveller from Switzerland who was attempting to introduce the work into Spain without declaring it.

Investigators discovered in his luggage an invoice from a Swiss gallery in Zurich for 450,000 Swiss francs (an equivalent amount in euros). The Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts authorities have determined, on a preliminary basis and pending more exhaustive reports, that the work is original and that the price charged by the gallery is in line with the market price.

The action was based on information sent by Swiss Customs to the Permanent Operational Coordination Centre of the Customs Department of the Tax Agency regarding a traveller from Switzerland who was on a commercial flight from Zurich to Ibiza carrying a work of art in circumstances that the Swiss authorities considered suspicious.

Following this information, an operation was launched, made up of Customs officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Civil Guard, to intervene in the event that the traveller tried to introduce it without declaring it, thus removing it from the control of the Spanish customs authorities.

A handwritten invoice for 1,500 francs

Upon arrival at Ibiza airport, the traveller denied, when questioned by investigators, that he had anything to declare and crossed the corresponding green channel. His luggage was immediately checked and a work of art signed by Picasso was found inside. At this point, the traveller claimed that it was a copy and produced a handwritten invoice for 1,500 Swiss francs.

However, a thorough search of his luggage revealed a second invoice, this time from an art gallery in Zurich, for a value of 450,000 Swiss francs, bearing the title of the work 'Trois personnages' from 1966, which corresponded to the work of art that was the subject of customs checks.

In this situation, and given that the artwork was stolen from the customs authorities, the print was seized for an alleged crime of smuggling, as a work of art whose value clearly exceeded the established legal limits had been introduced without declaration from Switzerland (a non-customs territory of the European Union).

Since the goods are worth more than 150,000 euros and were imported without a customs declaration despite the express questions of the authorities as to whether the passenger had anything to declare, an alleged crime of smuggling would have been committed, in accordance with the provisions of Organic Law 12/1995 on the Suppression of Smuggling.

The lawful introduction of the work into Spain would have implied having to pay customs duties and VAT on import, in addition to the administrative declaration obligations to which the merchandise was subject.

Preliminary analysis of the work

Following the intervention of the work, steps were taken with the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture, which contacted an expert in contemporary art, the director of the Museu d'Art Contemporani d'Eivissa, for the examination of the work, who has reported positively, on a preliminary basis, about the originality of the intervened work and its market value, which would correspond to the price charged by the Swiss gallery.

For definitive accreditation, more exhaustive reports will be required, which will have to be subsequently prepared by experts in Picasso's work using advanced techniques.

The artwork is at the disposal of the Court of Instruction 4 of Ibiza, which is in charge of investigating the events.