**Authorities in Italy say they have seized concealed works of art belonging to the convicted founder of Italian firm Parmalat, Calisto Tanzi.**The 19 paintings and drawings, including works by Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh, are worth more than 100m euros (£90m), financial police said.
Tanzi denied he was in possession of any secret art collection earlier this week, Italian newspapers reported.
The art was found stashed in houses belonging to friends of the family.
Tanzi’s son-in-law, Stefano Strini, is under investigation for allegedly handling the artwork.
Officials said the artwork had been offered to buyers and that authorities had had to work quickly to seize it before it was sold.
They said they had tracked down the trove of pictures using phone interceptions, following an investigative TV programme that was broadcast last weekend.
Among the pictures seized were a drawing of a ballerina by Degas, a tree trunk by Van Gogh, a Picasso still life, and a self-portrait of artist Antonio Ligabue.
Parmalat, once one of Italy’s leading companies, collapsed in a massive fraud scandal in 2003 with a 14bn euro ($20bn; £13bn) hole in its accounts.
The case was Europe’s biggest bankruptcy.
A Milan court sentenced Tanzi to 10 years in prison for fraud in 2008. He is also accused of fraudulent bankruptcy in a trial under way in Parma.