According to this source, confirming The Art Newspaper, Mr. Ruffini was indicted on December 16 for attempted fraud, aggravated money laundering, deception on the substantial qualities of goods and organized fraud.
He was placed under house arrest under electronic surveillance, the same source said.
Giuliano Ruffini, 77, is suspected of having deceived museums, auction houses and individuals by selling them paintings presented as the works of great masters, but which turned out to be fakes.
He surrendered to police in mid-November in Castelnovo ne' Monti, a town in the Reggio Emilia region of central Italy, his lawyer Paul Le Fevre announced in a statement.
According to Italian media, Giuliano Ruffini, who lives nearby, had been arrested.
The lawyer then underlined at the same time "the indigence of the incriminating elements" aimed at his client.
The arrest of Giuliano Ruffini took place after a legal marathon of several years in order to obtain his extradition to France, after the opening of an investigation in 2014 and the broadcast five years later of a European arrest warrant.
A Milan court gave the go-ahead two years ago for Mr Ruffini to be handed over to French justice to face charges of fraud and counterfeiting, but his transfer has been put on hold pending the completion of parallel legal proceedings in Italy for tax evasion.
In May, Ruffini was acquitted in this trial for tax evasion.
Well known in the art world, Ruffini has sold dozens of paintings since the 1990s, including works attributed to great masters in the history of painting such as El Greco to prestigious European museums, including the Louvre in Paris, often by using intermediaries.
But his fakes have also attracted wealthy buyers, such as the Prince of Liechtenstein, who acquired a fake from Lucas Cranach the Elder representing Venus for seven million euros ($7.24 million).
© 2022 AFP