MADRID (AP) – Spanish police said Monday they have confiscated 11 pieces of ancient gold jewelry that were taken out of Ukraine illegally in 2016.
A police statement said five people who were attempting to sell the pieces in Spain have been arrested in recent weeks. Those arrested included two Ukrainians, one of them an Orthodox Church priest, and three Spaniards.
The jewelry was said to be worth 60 million euros ($64 million) and dated from between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.
Police said the items were part of Ukraine’s national heritage. They went missing after being put on display between 2009 and 2013 in a museum in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The pieces included a belt, earrings and necklaces.
🚩Intervenidas en #Madrid 11 piezas de oro valoradas en ➕60.000.000 € pertenecientes al patrimonio histórico de #Ucrania
— Policía Nacional (@policia) October 23, 2023
🔹5 detenidos
🔹Las joyas de oro, de gran valor histórico y económico, habían sido sustraídas y exportadas ilícitamente e iban a ser vendidas en Madrid pic.twitter.com/WTAJL5TfNQ
An ornate gold belt was seized in 2021 and the rest of the pieces were seized in recent weeks. Police said the investigation continued.
The pieces are being studied by Spain’s National Archeological Museum and the country’s Cultural Heritage Institute.
Interior ministry attachés in Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, North Macedonia and Ukraine helped with the investigation, police said.
