Spanish police announced Monday that they had confiscated centuries-old gold artifacts worth more than 60 million euros ($64 million) that had been stolen and unlawfully removed from Ukraine.
The 11 pieces, which included necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, were shown at a museum in Kyiv between 2009 and 2013, and were smuggled out of Ukraine before 2016, according to authorities.
“The seized pieces – gold jewellery of great historic and economic value – had been stolen and exported illegally from Ukraine and were going to be sold in Madrid,” the statement added, noting items dated from between the 8th and 4th centuries BC.
Three Spaniards and two Ukrainians, one of whom was an Orthodox Church priest, were apprehended as part of the operation, which was carried out with the assistance of authorities in Ukraine, Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and North Macedonia.
According to police, the artifacts included fabricated paperwork in English, Ukrainian, and Spanish to appear to be from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“These are pieces that cannot be sold through the usual legal channels, such as auction houses,” said police spokeswoman Ana Ramon.
After one of the pieces — a gold belt with rams’ heads — was sold to a businessman in a private sale in Madrid in 2021, police launched an investigation.
This led investigators to the other ten artifacts taken from the accused last month.
The objects are being researched by the National Archaeological Museum of Spain and the Cultural Heritage Institute of the country.