Overview
- Police searching a home in Champigny-sur-Marne for drug trafficking found cannabis, luxury clothing, cash and a painting that authorities say was stolen from a Paris storage depot.
- Experts have authenticated the work as a Pablo Picasso portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter and French reports say a woman in Singapore claims ownership of the piece.
- Four people have appeared at an initial court hearing in the case, prosecutors expect further charges, and a trial has been tentatively scheduled for August.
- French media report that a security employee at a Paris art-storage firm admitted taking the painting and told investigators he did so to expose security flaws at the facility.
- The portrait is estimated at about €12–15 million, and the recovery has raised questions for insurers, storage operators and collectors about insider access and vault security.