Twelve people have been arrested in Italy suspected of stealing paintings worth 15 million euros (£11.5 million) in a robbery caught on CCTV.

A total of 17 paintings, including works by Tintoretto, Mantegna and Peter Paul Rubens, were taken by armed robbers shortly before the Castelvecchio museum in Verona closed on November 19 last year.

The footage, released by Italian Police, shows three brazen thieves, one armed with a hand gun, taking the artworks off the walls and easels.

One of the suspects arrested was identified as the guard who was on duty at the time.

CCTV also shows an individual being dragged along the floor of the museum and another restrained and frogmarched out of a gallery room by the robbers.

The robbers are said to have tied up the cashier. Credit: Police handout

The robbery prompted recriminations in Italy over the lack of security at the museum, which some critics blamed on public spending cuts.

Early theories over the culprits ranged from local delinquents to Islamic State.

The raiders struck after the museum's 11 staff had left but before a remote alarm system with the police station was activated.

They tied up the museum cashier and forced an armed guard to hand over keys to his car, which they used to get away.

Nine of the suspects were Moldovans arrested in their homeland and three were Italians arrested in Verona, Italian media reported.

The paintings were located in Moldova and were in the process of being recovered, reports said.