The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro carried out an operation this Wednesday (10) to arrest a gang accused of stealing more than R$ 720 million from an 82-year-old woman. In addition to the value, works of art by renowned artists, jewelry and bank transfers are also being recovered.
The police’s main suspicion is that the crime was planned by the elderly woman’s daughter, one of the four people arrested in the operation so far. In all, there are six arrest warrants, others for search and seizure and blocking of assets decided by justice.
According to the police, the elderly woman is the widow of a great art collector and dealer. In January 2020, the victim was leaving a bank branch in Copacabana, in the south of Rio, when she was approached by a woman who called herself a psychic and said that her daughter would be sick and would die soon.
Faced with the situation, the elderly woman, whose daughter has been facing psychological problems since adolescence, was convinced, even by her daughter, to make the payments requested for the spiritual treatment proposed by the seer.
According to the investigations, between January 22 and February 5, 2020, eight bank transfers were carried out in excess of BRL 5 million. Days after the beginning of the false treatment, the daughter began to isolate her mother from the people she was regularly acquainted with. The woman also dismissed employees who provided domestic services at the elderly woman’s home.
The scenario contributed to a series of mistrust and suspension of payment of amounts. According to the police, it was after this decision that the elderly woman began to be attacked and threatened. The only visits to the residence were made by acquaintances of the daughter, involved in the crime. They also began to threaten her. The extortion turned into further bank transfers by the victim.
In addition to cash and jewelry, the gang stole more than R$700 million worth of paintings by artists such as Tarsila do Amaral and Di Cavalcanti. In all, there were 16 works. Three of them, valued at more than R$300 million, were recovered in an art gallery in São Paulo.
The owner of the establishment confirmed that he sold two more to the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires. He didn’t suspect because he knew the family and the paintings had been given to him by the old woman’s own daughter.
Source: CNN Brasil
