Buyer theory in paintings theft described as folklore

EXPERTS involved in the investigation of stolen art here have described as folklore the idea that those behind the theft of The Scream have a buyer prepared to pay millions to view the piece at leisure in a darkened basement.

Investigators said the experience of the aftermath of major art thefts in Ireland reveals the huge difficulties of trying to offload or use as leverage priceless paintings.

Most of the paintings taken in a series of thefts from Russborough House in Co Wicklow were recovered, bar a couple from the very earliest raids in the 1970s. Those taken in 2002 were found in the attic of a middle-aged couple’s house in west Dublin.