In Spain, police arrested the thieves of Scythian gold, worth more than 60 million euros, while trying to sell it in Madrid. Valuables were confiscated.
How reports Reuters, these are 11 pieces of jewelry: intricate necklaces, bracelets and earrings dating from the Greco-Scythian period, between the 8th and 4th centuries BC. The elite jewelry was exhibited in one of the Kyiv museums in 2009-2013, and in 2016 it was smuggled out of Ukraine, the Madrid police said in a statement.
The artifacts, law enforcement officers note, had fake documents to make it look like they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The investigation began in 2021. During it, after the sale of one of the exhibits at a private auction in Madrid – a gold belt with rams’ heads – three citizens of Spain and two citizens of Ukraine were arrested.
Spanish police told The department’s press service reports the details of the operation, during which 11 stolen gold antique jewelry worth more than 60 million euros belonging to the historical heritage of Ukraine were seized.
The report says that operatives arrested five people, eliminating a criminal network that was involved in the illegal export of cultural property from Ukraine. The seized items were stolen and illegally exported from Ukraine and were supposed to be sold in Madrid. The investigation was carried out in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Albania, North Macedonia and Cyprus.
Agents began their first investigative actions when it became known that a Ukrainian citizen living in Madrid was selling a number of gold jewelry of great historical and economic value. In order to “whiten” the origin of the jewelry, documents were made for them in Ukrainian, English and Spanish, confirming their belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Ownership and the ability to dispose of the items were transferred to the main person involved in the investigation – an Orthodox priest living in Madrid.
Investigators seized the first decoration in 2021. It was a gold belt with rams’ heads, kept in a safe deposit box in the Spanish capital, which the main suspect sold privately and directly to a local businessman.
From that moment, during the investigation, law enforcement officers established that the defendants in the case had other jewelry with similar characteristics. The gang members, who tried to illegally sell valuable Ukrainian artifacts in Spain, were neutralized as a result of cooperation between the Security Service of Ukraine, the Bureau of Economic Security and the police of the Kingdom of Spain, said SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtyarenko:
“As a result of an international special operation in Madrid, five gang members were detained who were trying to illegally sell Ukrainian artifacts. Among the detainees is a representative of the UOC-MP from Ukraine. During the investigative actions, 11 stolen gold objects of the cultural heritage of our state worth more than 60 million euros were confiscated from the criminals. We are talking about precious objects from the 8th-4th centuries BC, including gold earrings, a pendant, chokers and a pectoral.”
According to the investigation, the defendants illegally exported artifacts from Ukraine to the European Union in the period 2014-2020. Then the criminals tried to “legalize” the stolen cultural property under the guise of their acquisition by foreign collectors with subsequent resale on the black market.
Law enforcement officers gradually documented the criminal actions of the defendants and caught them red-handed while transporting Ukrainian artifacts. The investigation continues to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. The seized antiquities were seized and an expert opinion was obtained that they belong to the cultural heritage of Ukraine.
In addition, comprehensive measures are ongoing to establish the location of all Ukrainian artifacts of “Scythian gold” that were stolen from the territory of our state, the SBU notes.
According to the Spanish National Police, all exhibits are now are being studied at the National Archaeological Museum and the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Spain, so the investigation remains open.
Reportedthat the collection of “Scythian gold”, which was exhibited in a museum in the Netherlands in 2014, when the Russian Federation occupied Crimea, will soon return to Ukraine.
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