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Morocco is to enact new rules and stiffen penalties to combat art forgery in order to maintain a multimillion-dollar art market that officials anticipate will continue to expand.
The North African country’s chief prosecutor began a series of meetings on Monday with the Ministry of Culture and the National Foundation of Museums to discuss methods and practices for better policing and detecting forged paintings and artworks, including harsher sentences and better regulation of auction houses.
“This problem is a real danger in this field,” stated Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mehdi Ben stated. “Moroccan paintings are now exported abroad and to combat forgery, it is essential to clean this business.”
Officials estimated the country’s art market to be worth over $2.5 million, noting that paintings, in particular, were gaining popularity throughout the Middle East, particularly in Qatar and the UAE.
Morocco’s actions add to a growing number of countries seeking forgeries, including the United States, where the FBI’s art crime division is taking a more active role in chasing forgeries such as those of painter Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2023.
