Police seize da Vinci work from Swiss vault

Police have seized a portrait attributed to Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci from the vault of a Swiss bank during an investigation into tax crime and insurance fraud, an Italian court said.

Negotiations to sell the oil painting of a 15th-century noblewoman, Isabella D’Este, for around €120m were at an advanced stage, the prosecutor’s office in Pesaro, Italy, said in a statement.

Police were first alerted to the existence of a possible da Vinci after a southern Italian lawyer was found in 2013 with a warrant to sell it for no less than €95m. But the initial investigation failed to find the painting.