(ECNS) -- A former college library curator in Guangzhou has been charged with replacing original art works with his own duplicates and then selling the originals for tens of millions of yuan, according to Information Times.
Xiao Yuan, the former curator of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts' library, has been charged with stealing 143 original art works, most of which were then auctioned with the proceeds being used for Xiao's personal benefit, including the purchase of eight houses and two high-end cars.
He showed up in court on Tuesday, but no conviction was reached.
From October 2002 to March 2010, Xiao allegedly used his own duplicates to replace 143 original art works stored in the library, including paintings from masters like Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi.
He is further suspected of selling 125 art pieces for more than 34.7 million yuan (about $5.59 million) between 2004 and 2010.
The remaining 18 works, worth an estimated 76.82 million yuan, have been confiscated by investigators. One of the stolen Zhang Daqian paintings is alone worth more than 30 million yuan. Xiao had not sold them as he had not been satisfied with any offers.
Prosecutors have charged him with corruption.
Xiao has admitted that with a set of keys, he had easy access to the library and stole the paintings out of greed between 2004 and 2006, sticking to weekends when the place was quiet. He added that he was not alone in stealing paintings from the college. Some of his own duplicates, he says, have been stolen and replaced by other extras.
In addition to purchasing houses and cars with the illegally gained money, Xiao bought guns and bullets, which is prohibited for ordinary Chinese citizens.
