Banking boss handed 18 month jail sentence and 52 million euro fine for stealing Spain’s national treasure

A banking boss who was discovered with a Picasso painting on his boat has been jailed for 18 months after being found guilty of trying to smuggle the artwork out of Spain.

The painting, Head of a Young Woman, is worth €24m (£20.5m) and was deemed a national artistic treasure by Spain, that meant it was banned from leaving Spain at any time.

Spanish national police flew to the  island of Corsica  to retrieve the artwork from owner Jaime Botin, who was the head of Bankinter at the time.

Botin’s boat was embargoed when the captain was not able to produce the right paper work, before being raided by cops who found the national Spanish treasure on board.

As well as an 18-month jail sentence, the judge handed out a €52.4m fine. The painting’s ownership has been handed back to the Spanish state.