Austrian authorities have published a
list of 17 instruments and four violin bows that they want to
recover in connection with a criminal investigation of violin
dealer Dietmar Machold's business activities.
Machold was arrested in Switzerland in March on charges of serious
fraud, misappropriation and fraudulent bankruptcy. He stands
accused of, among other things, keeping for himself instruments
that belonged to his clients, and hiding assets from his
creditors.
The list of missing instruments, including several Stradivari and
Guarneri 'del Gesù' violins, has been passed to
Interpol, the international criminal police agency. According
to a report in Austrian newspaper Der Standard,
investigators have also made official appeals to authorities in the
US, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan,
for their help in the search.
Der Standard claims that the value of the missing
instruments, together with the few that investigators have managed
to recover, amounts to some €155m. As the criminal investigation
continues, creditors including some of Austria's biggest banks are
pursuing claims for around €80m in civil insolvency proceedings
against Machold.
The violin dealer, meanwhile, remains in Swiss custody. He denies
the charges and, according to Der Standard, looks set to
resist attempts to extradite him to Austria.
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