Spanish police say they have confiscated ancient gold jewellery worth millions taken from Ukraine

Pieces of ancient gold jewellery are displayed after being recovered. Spanish police say they were taken out of Ukraine illegally in 2016. Photo / AP

Spanish police said they have confiscated 11 pieces of ancient gold jewellery that were stolen out of Ukraine in 2016.

A police statement said five people attempting to sell the pieces in Spain have been arrested recently. Those arrested included two Ukrainians, one of them an Orthodox Church priest, and three Spaniards.

The jewellery was said to be worth €60 million ($109 million) and dated from between the 8th and 4th centuries BC.

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.

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.