Luke looked at the oil painting and asked, "Is this oil painting really a high imitation?"

"Yes."

"I want to take this painting back for appraisal."

Jim looked at the deputy and then at Luke, "Do you have a search warrant?"

"No."

Jim spread his hands and said, "It's up to you."

With a search warrant and without a search warrant, the situation is definitely different, but Jim still decided to sell Luke one.

He had suffered losses at the hands of Luke and knew that this man was not someone to be trifled with, so there was no need to be tough.

"Deputy team, you take the oil painting back for appraisal, and I'll talk to Boss Jim alone."

The deputy glanced at Jim and said, "How about taking this naughty boy back to the police station?"

"I will think about it."

Luke didn't take him to the police station, not because he knew the other person, but because this guy was a bit slippery. It would be easy to catch him but difficult to convict him.

He had been monitoring the conversation between the two of them. Jim was very careful and never said that the painting was real. So Luke might as well sell him a favor and get some benefits.

Jim invited Luke into the store, and the two sat at the antique table and chairs in the corner of the store.

Luke got straight to the point, "You should still be on bail, right?"

Jim lowered his head and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses with the middle finger of his right hand, "Captain Li, the old detective named Vincent may have misunderstood.

I have nothing to do with the robbery of the painting from the Getty Museum."

"Now that I'm here, I have no intention of going back empty-handed. Either you provide some valuable clues, or I take you back to the police station."

"Captain Li, it is not illegal to sell high-imitation oil paintings. Antique stores are not auction houses. It is impossible for everything to be authentic."

"The news we have received is that you are selling an authentic oil painting "Rome" here. Before identifying the authenticity of the oil painting, we can use some investigative methods.

For example, apply for a search warrant to search your antique shop or even your pawn shop." As long as the other party is involved in the oil painting robbery, Luke has many ways to manipulate him. Even if there is no problem with the oil painting "Rome", he dares to say that the antique shop

Is there any problem with the origin of all the items?

Not to mention those things in the pawn shop.

Luke believed that he would compromise as long as he was not stupid.

"Captain Li, I respect you very much and am willing to assist you in your investigation, but I really have nothing to do with the case where the oil painting was stolen from the Getty Museum.

I just want to take advantage of this trend to make some money, that’s all.”

"Tell me everything you know, don't hide it, and don't lie.

I'm only interested in the oil painting robbery, you should understand what I mean." Luke's implication is that as long as you are not involved in the oil painting robbery, I can turn a blind eye to other crimes.

Based on Luke's understanding of Jim, this guy is not clean, and the information did not come through formal channels, and what Luke needs now is precisely the information from these unconventional channels.

Luke was afraid that the other party would be a trap and hide some valuable information.

Jim had tasted Luke's methods. Luke had dealt with him last time through David's relationship. This time he was involved in the oil painting robbery, which meant that he fell into his hands. He thought about it but cooperated with Luke.

, there is really no other way,

"I did hear about the case of oil paintings being robbed. I knew that ten oil paintings were lost in the Getty Museum, and one of them was "Rome" by Svensson Pilger, so I thought about it and acquired one.

High imitation paintings.

The painting I acquired is different from ordinary fake paintings. The artist's painting level is very high, which is enough to make the fake look real.

The authenticity of the oil painting was stolen and has spread in the antique circle.

There are always some customers who are interested in these genuine stolen goods.

Maybe some bad guy will buy the painting, and then I'll make a fortune.

That’s what happened.”

Luke said, "It's not easy to sell your oil painting as a fake."

Jim nodded, "I know.

Maybe 99 out of a hundred people don't believe it.

But as long as it can be sold, it will be a huge profit.

Even if I can't sell it in the end, I can still sell it at a lower price.

High imitation paintings are also popular in antique stores, so you don't have to worry about selling them.

I won’t lose money anyway, so why not give it a try?”

"If a customer finds out that you sell fake paintings, are you not afraid of retaliation?"

Jim smiled, "I never said it was genuine. This is an antique store. It all depends on your own ability. Once you leave this door, it has nothing to do with me.

Besides, these stolen oil paintings are registered with the police station, and I don’t think the other party dares to authenticate them.

If it cannot be authenticated, how can it be authentic?”

"Do you know which gang stole the oil painting?"

"have no idea."

"Do you have any information about the stolen oil paintings?"

"No.

As long as the robbers are not stupid, they probably won't sell the oil paintings at this time."

Luke took out a photo of the suspect Georgi and asked, "Do you know him?"

Jim picked it up and looked at it carefully, "I don't recognize it.

Sorry, I really don’t know much about the painting robbery."

Luke pondered for a moment and said, "If you were asked to rob oil paintings, what would you do with those oil paintings?"

This question is not difficult for Jim. "You are right on the point. There is a saying that 'paintings are easy to steal but difficult to sell', which is what this situation is now."

Many newcomers who commit crimes for the first time will focus a lot of energy on stealing, but only after getting the things in hand will they realize that the real problem has arisen.

There is no way to get rid of the things you snatched.

Therefore, professional gangs will think of channels for selling stolen goods in advance before committing crimes."

"What are the channels for selling stolen goods?" Luke asked. This group of robbers had well-planned plans and ruthless attacks. They were definitely not newbies. They had most likely found channels to sell stolen goods before the robbery.

“There are many channels for selling stolen goods, which can be roughly divided into two categories.

In the first case, a reliable buyer has been found before committing the crime, and the oil painting can be traded directly after receiving it.

It will not alarm other people and can be realized quickly, which is also the best.

You can call it a custom buyer.

There is also a situation where the oil painting obtained is not sold for the time being and is stored in a place that no one knows.

After the limelight has passed and the police investigation has relaxed, the oil paintings will be sold."

Luke asked, "To whom?"

"There are some complications here, because stolen oil paintings cannot be cashed in through legal means, and thieves will turn their attention to the black market. Of course, the sale price will certainly not be too high, about 5% to 10% of the actual price.

This is just a preliminary transaction, and may change hands several times during the process. These paintings and antiques may also be exchanged for drugs or weapons.

As for the final destination of these stolen antiques, it is most likely to be resold to the museum, gallery or insurance company where they were stolen."

Luke thought he heard wrongly, "Are you saying that the ten stolen paintings might be resold to the Getty Museum by the thieves?"

"That's right.

However, there have been several sales changes, and one or two middlemen are needed to complete the deal. Of course, the acquisition price will not be too high, probably around 10%." Jim added, "Actually, this is the best result.

.

As far as I know, the ten stolen paintings from the Getty Museum are worth about $20 million.

The Getty Museum's reward is $2 million.

So why not buy back the stolen paintings for $2 million?

These ten stolen oil paintings can only gain the greatest value if they are returned to the Getty Museum."

Luke understood what the other party meant. These stolen oil paintings were all registered and could not be circulated normally. Take the ten oil paintings that were robbed from the Getty Museum. These ten oil paintings were worth at most US$2 million in the hands of others.

Once returned to the Getty Museum, the value of the oil painting will increase tenfold.

They may not be happy and feel aggrieved to ask the Getty Museum to redeem the oil painting for two million now, but if the police fail to catch the robbers and cannot recover the oil painting, in two years the person in charge of the Getty Museum will calm down.

, there is a high probability that you will choose to repurchase the oil painting, because this is the only way to maximize your profits.

By losing these ten oil paintings, they lost 20 million.

Using 2 million US dollars to buy back is equivalent to a loss of only 2 million.
To be continued...