Igor Toporovski () is a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

-born Belgian art collector. In 2018, more than 20 pieces of

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

from his collection made a nucleus of an exhibition at the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts. After an investigation, the pieces were suspected to be forgeries and were taken down for investigation, and

Catherine de Zegher Catherine de Zegher (born Marie-Catherine Alma Gladys de Zegher Groningen, April 14, 1955) is a Belgian curator and a modern and contemporary art historian. She has a degree in art history and archaeology from the University of Ghent. From 1988 ...

, the museum director, was suspended. At the end of 2019 Igor and his wife Olga were arrested and put in provisional detention at the prison of Ghent awaiting their trial for forgery, money laundering,

handling stolen goods Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods. In many jurisdictions, if an individual has accepted possession of goods (or property) and knew they were stolen, then the individua ...

and fraud, but in January 2020 they were released, under specific conditions, awaiting their trial. Toporovsky was arrested again after breaching conditions. Toporkowski is known to provide false information about himself when he tried to be a politician in Russia, as well as while trumping up his importance in interviews.Наталья Шкуренок
Приключения русского авангарда в Генте
''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments i ...

Russia — новости искусства'', January 15, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toporovski, Igor Belgian art collectors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)