Penza, 13 December 2012. PenzaNews. Over 70 fake paintings and tapestries with signs of counterfeit were discovered by the Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Penza region in one of the regional towns, the name of which is not disclosed for the sake of investigation.

“The fact of the counterfeit paintings sale was reported to the police by Moscow organization, which owns the rights to the works of several artists. During the verification the paintings displayed in the salon were compared with the samples from the catalog of the rights owner. The counterfeit paintings had only slight detail differences from the original,” commented the referent of the press service of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs Sergei Poplevin in an interview with news agency “PenzaNews.”

He clarified that all the paintings and tapestries suspected of counterfeit were confiscated.

“In the nearest future they will be photographed, and the pictures will be sent to the rights owner to match with the originals. After that, Moscow experts will hold an art expertise, according to the results of which further legal proceedings will be undertaken,” the agency interlocutor explained.