Billionaire Banker Jaime Botin Gets an 18-Month Prison Sentence and a $58 Million Fine for Smuggling a Picasso Out of Spain

Jaime Botin, a Spanish billionaire and member of the dynasty
that has run Santander SA bank for more than 100 years, was
sentenced today to 18 months in prison and received a €52.4 million
($58 million) fine for smuggling a celebrated work by Pablo Picasso
out of Spain.

Botin, who was formerly head of Spanish lender Bankinter SA, was
found guilty of contraband in culturally important goods. He was
also forced to surrender the artwork itself,
Picasso’s Head of a Young Woman, which is valued
at €26 million ($29 million). (He has a net worth of $1.7 billion,
according to Forbes,)

The Picasso was seized from Botin’s yacht in Corsica, after he
took it there in defiance of court orders mandating that he keep it
in Spain. Now, the painting is in the custody of the Reina Sofia
museum in Madrid, until further notice.

According to a Reuters
report, Botin, 83, has ten days to appeal the decision. He is
unlikely to serve the prison time ordered due to his age and the
fact that he is a first-time offender, the report notes.

Spain’s laws on the protection of cultural heritage are said to
be among the strictest in Europe. Any work of art older than 100
years is considered a national treasure and thus requires an export
permit. Botin applied for an export permit for the Picasso, but was
rejected.

Botin acquired the Picasso in 1977, Bloomberg reported,
citing UK website Artlyst. It hails from the artist’s pre-Cubist
“Rose” period.

Spanish authorities seem to have been observing Botin for some
time. They had long suspected him of planning to sell the painting,
according to Bloomberg. In 2012, he authorized Christie’s auction
house to seek an export permit from Madrid to London, Spanish judge
Elena Gonzalez concluded in her ruling.

Internal email at Christie’s presented as evidence during
Botin’s trial show the painting was being billed as one of the
top draws at an auction scheduled for February 2013.

The post Billionaire Banker Jaime Botin Gets an 18-Month
Prison Sentence and a $58 Million Fine for Smuggling a Picasso Out
of Spain appeared first on artnet News.