Artist jailed in Moscow for art forgery

Moscow: An artist in The Russian capital has been sentenced to four years in prison for forging and selling what he claimed were Russian avant-garde paintings.

Alexander Chernov formed a criminal alliance, comprised of his twin brother and daughter, which forged and sold more than 800 paintings and graphics, including purported works by Kazimir Malevich, for a total of 20 million rubles (about $700,000), the RAPSI legal news agency said. The case against the twin brother was dropped due to his death. The group also commissioned fakes from another artist, whose name was not disclosed. Chernov`s daughter Dina was also convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Both father and daughter face civil lawsuits from art collectors they sold the forgeries to. IANS