Vittorio Sgarbi, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Italian art critic who is under investigation for possessing a stolen painting, said on Friday he was resigning as Rome’s antitrust watchdog sought to cut his unofficial duties, Reuters reported. He was accused of incompatibility.

Sgarbi, 71, was close to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died last year.

Sgarba had been under pressure for weeks to resign after the paintings scandal, but said he was stepping down “to avoid a conflict of interest” before starting a lecture on Renaissance artist Michelangelo in Milan.

Sgarbi said the antitrust body, which is investigating him for a possible conflict of interest, told him he shouldn’t attend the art conference.

He said he chose to preserve his freedom rather than follow her instructions.

“According to the anti-monopoly notice, I should not talk about art, I should not deal with art. I should be a deputy minister, performing administrative duties, and limited,” he said.

He attacked Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano for not standing up for what Sgarbi called “anonymous letters” to the ministry accusing him of accepting non-ministerial honorarium payments in violation of the rules.

Prosecutors are investigating a politician whose job it is to protect the country’s cultural heritage for possessing a 17th-century painting that police say was stolen from a castle near Turin in 2013. He denies any wrongdoing.

On Monday, Sgarbi lashed out at two TV journalists interviewing him about the painting, saying he hoped they would die and threatening to expose his genitalia on camera.

According to Euronews Italia, February 15 is the deadline by which the antitrust authority will have to make a decision on the inconsistency of Sgarbi’s extraterritorial activities and the role he held in the ministry.

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