After five paintings including a Matisse and a Picasso were stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, an apparent disagreement arose concerning the value of the stolen works.
An aide to the mayor of Paris reportedly stated that the paintings are worth approximately $123 million while the prosecutor’s office reportedly states that the paintings are worth $617 million.
One might surmise there are political justifications for the estimates: the mayor wants his city to look safe and thereby minimizes the scale of the heist whereas the prosecutor wants to make a splash with a possible criminal case.
But, either way, it’s a robbery.
More about the theft can be found here:
www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/05/20/france.paintings.theft/index.html