Spanish police say they have seized centuries-old gold artifacts worth more than 60 million euros that were stolen and smuggled out of Ukraine.
The 11 pieces from the collection, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings, were on display in a museum in Kyiv between 2009 and 2013 and were smuggled out of Ukraine before 2016, police said in a statement. The objects date from the 8th and 4th centuries BC.
Three Spanish and two Ukrainian citizens – one of them a priest – were arrested as part of the operation carried out with the help of the authorities in Ukraine, as well as Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and North Macedonia, AFP reported, quoted by BGNES.
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Police said the artifacts came with forged documents in English, Ukrainian and Spanish to make it appear they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “These are items that cannot be sold through the usual legal channels such as auction houses,” a police official added.
Police began their investigation back in 2021 after one of the pieces – a gold belt with ram’s heads – was sold to a businessman in Madrid. That led investigators to the remaining 10 artifacts that police seized last month from the suspects.
The pieces are being studied by Spain’s National Archaeological Museum and the country’s Cultural Heritage Institute.
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🚩Intervened in #Madrid 11 pieces of gold valued at ➕€60,000,000 belonging to the historical heritage of #Ukraine
🔹5 arrested
🔹The gold jewelry, of great historical and economic value, had been stolen and illicitly exported and was going to be sold in Madrid pic.twitter.com/WTAJL5TfNQ— National Police (@policia) October 23, 2023
2023-10-23 20:03:45
#Spain #seizes #ancient #gold #jewelry #stolen #Ukraine #VIDEO
