Spain exposes network selling ancient jewelry from Ukraine
In addition to the Spanish police and the SBU, the authorities of Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia and Cyprus took part in the investigation
The National Police of Spain, in a joint operation with the Security Service of Ukraine, exposed a criminal network that stole Ukrainian cultural property.
Source. This is stated in the message of the Spanish police on Twitter.
During the operation, 11 gold jewelry worth more than 60 million euros dating back to the Greco-Scythian period was seized. In addition, the Spanish police arrested five people – three Spanish citizens and two Ukrainians.
"The seized items – gold jewelry of great historical and material value – were stolen and illegally exported from Ukraine and were intended for sale in Madrid," the statement said.
The investigation began after the group members decided to sell the jewelry that had been exported from Ukraine before 2016.
It was impossible to sell them legally, so they registered the jewelry as assets of companies specially created for this purpose, and in the accompanying documents they wrote that they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The right to dispose of the gold jewelry was transferred to a priest living in Madrid, who is now the main suspect in the case.
The first piece of jewelry, a gold belt with rams' heads, was seized in 2021. According to the investigation, the priest sold the jewelry directly to a Madrid businessman.
After that, operatives realized that the suspects might have other items with similar characteristics.
In addition to the Spanish police and the SBU, authorities from Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, and Cyprus took part in the investigation.
Background. In May, the National Police seized a collection of antiquities worth millions of dollars. Part of the collection was probably stolen from museums in Crimea and Melitopol.
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