Four international brokerage and management firms and six employees allegedly attempted to launder funds gained through fraudulent stock trading through offshore banks and the art world, including an attempted purchase of a Pablo Picasso painting, federal prosecutors and regulators announced Friday.

According to federal authorities, Panayiotis Kyriacou and Arvinsingh Canaye, managers at companies connected to Beaufort Securities Ltd. of London, along with accomplices at a number of management firms, conducted a number of schemes to defraud investors and launder funds for themselves and their clients.