Jaime Botin, who previously served as bank president, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling the Pablo Picasso painting out of Spain. The ownership of the art, which is the “The Head of a Young Woman,” was transferred to the Spanish state after it was deemed a national artistic treasure. 

Therefore, it is illegal to export the painting out of Spain without the approval of the state. The painting is regarded as “unexportable” by the Spanish authorities due to cultural interests. Pablo painted the Picasso in 1906, and it is currently valued at 27.4 million USD. 

According to Spanish art regulations, any work of art that is more than 100 years old and is regarded as culturally relevant is deemed a national treasure. As a result, owners of such pieces must get authorization from relevant authorities before taking them outside the country. 

Botin became the owner of the Picasso in 1977 after purchasing it in London. Officials from the customs department seized the painting from his yacht on the French island of Corsica in 2015.

From the court ruling, it was revealed that Botin had taken the Picasso to the Mediterranean port city of Valencia. He is also accused of instructing his captain to hide the painting from the authorities. Onboard the yacht, the officials found a document that confirmed the work was of cultural interest and was banned from leaving Spain without authorization. 

Botin, 83, served as chairman of Bankinter and is also uncle to Ana Botin, who is the current chairman of the Santander banking group. He was fined 58 million USD, but he denied the charges pronounced against him by judges at Madrid High Court. The fine was put at twice the value of the painting.

Fortunately for him, there is a high chance that he might not serve time in prison due to his advanced age and the fact that he is a first time offender. Botin denied the charges against him and claimed that he was taking the painting to Switzerland for safe custody. 

Botin’s lawyers disagreed with the court pronouncement on the matter by stating that the painting should not have been subjected to an export ban. In their argument, they claim that the ban could not apply to a piece that was purchased abroad and was domiciled on a British-flagged vessel. They also added that the painting had only been in the Spanish territory for six months from the time it was purchased.

The Madrid court, on the other hand, said that Botin had been told by Christie’s, a British auction house, that he would require official permission to sell the painting in the London auction. He was thus found guilty of smuggling cultural goods because, according to the court, he removed the painting from national territory without authorization.  

Botin’s lawyers have filed an appeal against the judgment. 

The painting whose ownership is still in contention is currently exhibited at the Reina Sofia modern art museum in Madrid. In the painting, a woman with long black hair against an earth-toned color-scheme is portrayed.