The case began after Dutch reporters announced they had identified the stolen painting from a published real estate photo which depicted the artwork hanging inside Patricia Kadgien's residence at Padre Cardiel 4152 in the Mar del Plata neighbourhood.  Around the same time, a complaint from the Customs Collection and Control Agency attached to the Buenos Aires Customs House was opened for the alleged crime of concealing smuggling, and a search of the property was authorised by the Mar del Plata Court of Guarantees No. 2 at the request of Carlos Martínez, a prosecutor with the Federal Court's Office for Simple Crimes. 

According to Argentine law, search warrants of this type must be notified, at the time of their execution, to the owner or possessor, or failing that, to any adult present at the premises, preferably the relatives of the former, inviting them to witness said search.  This explains the presence of Patricia Mónica Kadgien and Juan Carlos Cortegoso's lawyer over the five hours when the Mar del Plata Special Investigations Unit executed their search at the home.

Once the house search had been carried out, the prosecutor was required to draw up a report recording the outcome of the search, noting all circumstances that may be of importance to the case.  This report was then signed by all those involved in the search.

As we know from journalistic reports last week, by this point in time the family had intentionally moved the stolen painting elsewhere, replacing its place on the wall with a large carpet.

In a statement given to the daily Spanish-language newspaper La Capital, by the family's attorney, Murias, said "Technically, the painting is being filed as a result of a judicial process. It is being filed in the Civil Court, which we consider competent to resolve this matter, not in the Criminal Court, in the context of an alleged complaint filed by Arca for a crime that my client is allegedly being charged with for 'covering up smuggling..."

Yesterday, Patricia Kadgien and her husband were placed under house arrest for 72 hours while the case remained under investigation by federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez.  Police confirm an additional three searches have been carried out at addresses in and around Buenos Aires, including one at an apartment located at Calle Santa Fe 1700.  In the interim, the judge assigned to this case has ordered that the summary of these actions be kept sealed for 48 hours, meaning we will have to wait to know what details and evidence was found during these other searches at homes linked to Kadgien and the couple’s relatives.

As of now, neither Friedrich Kadgien's daughter nor his son in law, has been charged in the criminal court with obstructing a police investigation for what appears, at least  on the surface, to have been the intentional removal of the Ghislandi painting to impede its seizure.  Yet, the deeper question persists: why continue to shield and deny, when the opportunity exists to make amends? Especially given Patricia Kadgien was just thirteen when her father died. 

On principle alone, one might expect her or her sister Alicia Maria Kadgien to step forward, to repudiate the sins of their father, and to return what was stolen.  Imagine having the chance to reconcile, even in a small way, with history’s injustices, and the things your family did, only to choose instead to perpetuate them.

3 September 2025 Update: Argentina’s Federal Attorney General Daniel Adler announced that the painting  "Portrait of a Lady" stolen from Jacques Goudstikker has been placed under protection after Argentine Judge Patricia Noemí Juárez, of the 11th Civil Court, held that after analyzing the elements incorporated into the case and a hearing held with the Federal Prosecutor, "I must conclude that the ordinary jurisdiction is not competent to intervene in a case where the Federal Justice is ultimately pursuing the seizure of a work of art with an alleged illicit origin."