German Prosecutor Mirja Feldmann Leads Probe into Giacometti Sculpture Forgeries Linked to Thailand

The three‑part TV documentary "Millionen Fake – Jagd auf die Kunstfälscher" aired on 3sat and follows the investigation of a large‑scale forgery network involving Alberto Giacometti sculptures. Stuttgart prosecutor Mirja Feldmann, together with the LKA art and antiquities unit and French expert Hubert Lacroix, traced the production of hundreds of counterfeit Giacometti works to a workshop in Thailand run by Dutch forger Robert Driessen. The case began in 2001 when 13 fake sculptures were discovered by the LKA, and it grew into one of Europe’s biggest art‑fraud scandals, causing losses of several million euros. The series shows undercover operations, arrests, and the eventual pursuit of Driessen back to Thailand, highlighting the forensic methods used to prove authenticity and the international scope of the crime.