They were probably illegally removed from the Museum Fund of Ukraine and objects of archaeological heritage.
Under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, as part of the investigation of criminal proceedings based on the facts of a group of persons carrying out economic activities with illegal authorities in the temporarily occupied territory, searches were conducted on the members of this group, including the People’s Deputy of Ukraine II-IV convocations.
Law enforcement officers discovered documents related to the implementation of illegal economic activities in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Donetsk region. As well as a large collection of antiquities, which were probably illegally removed from the Museum Fund of Ukraine, including items obtained as a result of illegal search operations at archaeological heritage sites. This is reported by the General Prosecutor’s Office.
Among the recovered items are a unique Hun sword with gold decoration, a golden Byzantine icon of the 11th and 12th centuries, jewelry, helmets, icons, and other items of historical and cultural value.
Currently, all recovered valuable finds have been handed over to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine for safekeeping. In the future, it is planned to appoint a forensic and art-scientific examination to establish the cultural value of these objects.
The pre-trial investigation is carried out by the SBI under the operational support of the DSR of the National Police of Ukraine (Part 4 of Article 110-2, Part 3 of Article 436-2, Part 4 of Article 111-1, Part 1 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
