News

Saint-Petersburg Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee has finished investigating a criminal case against 58-year-old Yelena Basner charged with a crime under part 4 of article 159 of the RF Penal Code (fraud).

According to investigators, in summer 2009 Basner, who was a famous in the city specialists in arts and painting, conspired with a person, who is now wanted, to commit a grand fraud by giving a knowingly false information on the authenticity of the painting “In the restaurant” by Boris Grigoryev. Having received from her accomplice the said forged painting Basner knowing that the original painting was kept in the State Russian Museum deceived a buyer about the authenticity of the painting and got from him 250 thousand US dollars.

The accomplices spend the money on their own needs.

The investigators have gathered enough evidence, so the criminal case has been forwarded for the indictment to be approved and later will be sent to court to be tried on the merits.