Art of the Heist

On December 22nd, 2000 three of the world's greatest art treasures were stolen from the National Museum in Stockholm. Together the Rembrandt and two Renoir paintings were valued at 50 million dollars. This is the story of the ruthless robbery of three masterpieces and the cunning and daring plan to trap the gang who had them.

It was the biggest art heist in American history. The haul included a rare Vermeer and paintings by Rembrandt and Degas. Since then teams of FBI agents have worked on the case.

It’s the most important question in the worldwide art market. Is it genuine? Or is it fake? When a forgery is passed off as the real thing, there are fortunes to be made and lost. For nearly a decade, two Englishmen did just that.

The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is one of the most famous and powerful images in history. In the past 12 years, it has been the target of thieves not once but twice. One version, stolen in 1994, was recovered.

Nearly thirty years ago, seven paintings, including a priceless Cezanne, were stolen from a private collection in America. For three decades, the pursuit of the paintings followed a trail from America to Monaco to Russia and eventually to London.

In the 1970s, the black market in religious artifacts had exploded into a multi-million dollar industry. The war-torn island of Cyprus was being picked clean.