Greek police arrest 3 accused of faking and selling at auction scores of artworks

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police say three people have been arrested in northern Greece on suspicion of systematically counterfeiting artworks by leading Greek painters and selling them as originals through an online auction house. A police statement says the arrests were carried out Wednesday on the eve of a live internet sale of 123 artworks by the auctioneers, who were based in the northern city of Thessaloniki. An art expert from Greece’s National Gallery who examined the works found that all 123 were “clearly” forgeries, the police statement said.