Return of Masterpiece Linked to Bank Fraud to the Government of Brazil Announced

Return of Masterpiece Linked to Bank Fraud to the Government of Brazil Announced

NEW YORK, NY - U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and Special Agent-in-Charge James T. Hayes, Jr., of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations announce the return of a painting by Serge Poliakoff called "Composition abstraite [Abstract composition]" to Brazil at a repatriation ceremony at the United States Attorney's Office in Manhattan, New York. The painting was smuggled into the United States in violation of U.S. customs law and was forfeited to the United States as a result of civil forfeiture action brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan.