Any art collectors on here.........nice advance warning.........
story in today's Cyprus Mail:
A Russian business mogul residing in Limassol has leased the services of the Police Rapid Response Unit (MMAD) and Counter-Terrorism Squad (EAO) to move a number of paintings worth hundreds of millions to his estate.
A police source told the Cyprus Mail that the paintings will arrive on the island on charted flights and are under heavy security.
The police mission is to escort the armoured trucks carrying the paintings to the Russian’s estate.
“The operation is expected to last until February,” said the police source, pointing out that leasing the services of the police is not an uncommon practice.
“We have a large number of services at our disposal and on occasion we are requested to help people with matters outside the scope of our mission,” said the source.
Daily Politis, who ran the story on Tuesday, said that the mogul is an avid art collector, and owns works by Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet.
His collection – according to Politis – is estimated to worth over a billion euro.
The mogul is acting through a legal firm in Limassol, which secured the cooperation of the authorities.
