“I wanted Picasso for my collection” says after the release of the perpetrator of the theft of the century at the National Gallery

The 50-year-old oil painter, who was arrested last year and has now been released from prison and has been placed under confinement, claims that his love for art led him to steal three paintings from the National Gallery, including that of Picasso. with the so-called electronic wristband. He even claims that it was his intention to sneak back into the National Gallery nine years after the theft and put the works back in their place, but he never got around to it.

What happened and was done by my love for art. I was already a collector of a small collection of various Greek artists and I wanted to enrich the existing collection I had then, which is even bigger now with some works by famous painters, says the 50-year-old

Ten years after the theft of the century from the national gallery, the notorious burglar tries to justify in front of the cameras why he stole the priceless Picasso painting and two other works. The professional oil painter claims to be a passionate collector and denies any charge of art smuggling.

50 year old: I was a visitor to the national gallery years ago, I was a fan and still am.

Journalist: When did the thought come in?

50 year old: The thought existed two years ago.

Journalist: get a table?

50 year old: Take any table of value to add to my collection.

Journalist: Have you been working on it in your head for two years?

50 year old: It comes, it goes, it goes, it goes until at some point when I heard that the national art gallery will be closed for renovation, I made the decision to do what I did. The exclusion of the option to return them in 2014 or 2015 was not possible at the time, for the reason that in order to return them without evidence, the works would not have fingerprints and DNA on them, in order to do that I would i had to put them through chemicals and they got ruined so what should i return them?

Journalist: Have you ever thought of selling them?

50 year old: Never.

The thief of Pablo Picasso’s iconic work, who planned this incredible burglary for two years, apologizes just before his own, and while he is at home with a monitoring bracelet.

Anyone could enter through an unlocked balcony door, push a plasterboard with their feet. If you have seen a couple of movies on netflix, you can do it. Many are responsible, primarily me who committed the crime, says the 50-year-old.

“In this case he was absolutely alone. It is simply not believable by many that such a theft in the national gallery could be done by a single person and yet it happened”, says his defense attorney, Sakis Kehagioglou.

The 50-year-old oil painter had shocked Greek and global public opinion, as he had breached the security systems of the old National Gallery, monitoring the habits of the guards for months, even when they took a cigarette break, and managed to steal a painting that Picasso had is a gift to the Greek people for the resistance they showed to the Nazi occupation after the end of the Second World War.

“It was a fair decision, the decision of the investigator to release him from prison and replace the temporary detention. “Without the will, the decision, the cooperation and the practical remorse of Mr. Sarmatzopoulos, the priceless Picasso painting was never going to return to the ownership of the national gallery and, by extension, the Greek people,” states his defense attorney, Sakis Kehagioglou.

The defendant states that he owes an apology first of all to his family and then to the entire Greek people. He will remain out of jail on electronic monitoring until the trial.

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