ART CRIMES///MISSING $8 MIL BASQUIAT MASTERPIECE RECOVERED IN NYC…

February 15th, 2008

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Basquiat’s 1982 masterpiece, “Hannibal”…

An $8 million painting by JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT has been located in an Upper East Side Manhattan warehouse after apparently being smuggled out of Brazil, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors filed papers Wednesday seeking to seize the 1982 painting, called “Hannibal,” in an effort to help Brazilian authorities claim it.

Its last known owner was Edemar Cid Ferreira, the former owner of Banco Santos and one of Brazil’s largest art collectors. The bank went bankrupt in September 2005, leaving behind debts of over $1 billion. Ferreira was convicted in Brazil on charges including money laundering and bank fraud. He was ordered to begin serving a 21-year sentence in December 2006, but was released while his appeal winds through the courts.

A Brazilian court ordered the seizure of $20 million to $30 million worth of art, saying Ferreira and his relatives and associates had bought the works with proceeds of illegal schemes, according to U.S. prosecutors. But “Hannibal” was missing. Until now…

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