US will not extradite Russian art dealer to Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
04.08.2015 16:30
A US judge has ruled against extraditing a Russian art dealer to Poland who was accused of illegally acquiring a painting looted during World War II.
Photo: GlowImages
Judge Jed Rakoff has found no evidence to confirm that Alexander Khochinskiy knew the painting was stolen from Poland.
“Undisputed evidence showed that Khochinskiy openly displayed the painting in his gallery in Moscow for many years and listed it in published catalogues,” the ruling noted.
“This behavior is inconsistent with someone who knows his property is sought by a foreign sovereign.”
Khochinskiy had claimed he had inherited 'Girl with a Dove,' a 1754 oil painting by Antoine Pesne, from his father, who apparently brought the work back to Russia at the end of the war.
The painting had belonged to the Wielkopolska Museum in Poznań (reborn following the war as the National Museum in Poznań).
It was looted, together with other works at the museum, by the Nazis in 1943. Several works were found during the military campaign and after the war by the Soviets in 1945, but not all were returned. (nh/rk)
Source: AP, Radio Free Europe