Spanish ex-banker gets 18 months in prison for smuggling Picasso painting out of Spain
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A Spanish former banker will spend 18 months in prison after a court found him guilty on Thursday of attempting to smuggle a Picasso painting out of Spain.
Jaime Botín, the former head of Spain’s Bankinter, was also fined more than 53 million euros — the equivalent of $58.5 million.
A team of Spanish police experts flew to the French island of Corsica in 2015 to retrieve Picasso's 1906 masterpiece "Head of a Young Woman," which is valued at $26 million. The work is deemed a national artistic treasure.
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They said the oil painting, which comes from the Cubist master's "pink period" and features a woman with long black hair, was seized when the boat's captain was unable to produce proper documents.
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On the boat, authorities found a document in Spanish confirming that the work was of "cultural interest" and was banned from leaving Spain, Picasso's homeland, without permission.
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Corsican authorities said that they had been tipped off about an attempted smuggling of the prized painting from Spain by boat.
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The painting is now in the ownership of the Spanish state.
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Botín’s verdict can be appealed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.