Art World
Fugitive Con Man Steals $500,000 From Czech Museum
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In what’s sure to be one for the annals of museum mis-management, a fugitive working under a false identity managed to become the finance chief of the Czech Republic’s National Museum of Agriculture and, according to a report by the dpa, subsequently stole 10 million Czech koruna (€360,000/$500,000) from the institution’s coffers.
The man who presented himself as a Mr. Liska escaped through a emergency exit when questioned by the authorities. He’s suspected to be the same man who escaped prison while serving a seven-year sentence for multiple charges resulting from a previous fraud of a religious organization. There, he had also embezzled 10 million Czech koruna.
Police tell the dpa that there is “clear evidence” that the two individuals are indeed the same person. The sum which he is alleged to have stolen this time around amounts to about one-third of the museum’s total annual budget.
