DENMARK: Danish police have recovered a self-portrait of 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt stolen in a daring raid on Sweden's National Museum nearly five years ago, and arrested four men, officials said yesterday.
The two Iraqis, a Gambian and a Swede were caught in a police sting while showing the $40 million (€32.7 million) painting to a potential buyer at a Copenhagen hotel late on Thursday, Danish police said. "We have recovered the painting during a planned action," police spokesman Flemming Steen Munch said, adding that the four men would be held in custody for 13 days pending further investigation.
"We will have to continue the investigation to see if there are more people involved," he said, adding that the prospective buyer was not a suspect. If found guilty, the men could face up to six years in prison, he said.
The painting was stolen alongside two masterworks by French impressionist Pierre-August Renoir when an armed gang entered the museum just before closing time in December 2000. Renoir's Conversation was recovered by Swedish police in 2001, but his A Young Parisienne is still missing.