In Moscow, they found coins stolen from France worth 55 million rubles.
As it became known to Kommersant, a collection of ancient coins, stolen several years ago from the Museum of Archeology and the Art of San Remes in the French city of Reims, was discovered in Moscow as a result of the operation of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A few months ago, the operatives received information that on the shelves of metropolitan antique stores and pawnshops, unique old gold coins appeared, which were offered to sell at a price almost ten times lower than real. It was possible to find out the location of about 100 museum exhibits that were taken to Russia after theft, since the attackers could not sell in Europe and reference books. Now the channels of smuggling are being clarified and the issue of initiating a criminal case is being decided at once under several articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
According to the informed sources of Kommersant, the beginning of the search for traces of the stolen collection of ancient coins in the capital in France in 2022 was the operational information received at the FSB of Russia and the Main Directorate of the criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The detectives had information that about six months ago, ancient gold coins began to be offered in Moscow antique stores and pawnshops. Operators specializing in counteracting the illegal circulation of antiques and jewelry suspected that they had a foreign and most likely criminal origin. The fact is that if their authenticity actually was not in doubt, then the price was sometimes almost ten times lower than the market. The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs specified that a request was made via Interpol channels to the competent authorities of France as a country of the most possible origin of a rare collection. As a result, it turned out that earlier the collection, which was sold in parts in Russia, was stored in the Museum of Archeology and Art in the French city of Reims. It is located in the former abbey of Saint-Reme, founded in the VI century and storing the power of St. Remigy since 1099 (Bishop of Reima, who in 496 converted the Frankish King of Clovis I to Christianity).
“Foreign colleagues confirmed the embezzle of gold coins, including rare valuable specimens of ancient times, minted from the 1st to the 5th century AD. It turned out that the museum guard was convicted for the commission of this crime. However, it was not possible to find and return the stolen, ”said Irina Volk, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to her, a photo and a detailed description of the wanted exhibits were obtained from abroad, and 79 coins were seized from antique and numismatists. “The examination conducted by the State Historical Museum confirmed that they represent a special historical and cultural value. The approximate total cost of coins is more than 55 million rubles, ”said Ms. Wolf.
Meanwhile, as Kommersant sources specified, the total cost of the stolen collection, which the investigators tracked down in antique salons for several months, can exceed € 1.5 million, and it includes other coins – not only so ancient, but also very expensive, for example, the time of the Napoleon Bonaparte empire.
All found specimens are now stored in the historical museum where they undergo an examination. The question of the return of the collection to the place of permanent exposition in France, according to Kommersant, will be decided later.
According to preliminary data, after theft in Reims, the attackers simply could not sell them in their homeland or somewhere in Europe. All museum exhibits are registered in the appropriate catalogs of antiques and numismatists, and an attempt to sell could lead to immediate arrest. Meanwhile, the countries of the former USSR, as well as a number of countries of the East, are for black antiques a very attractive market for stolen values. Now the operatives are clarifying the channels through which the stolen coins entered Moscow. According to one version, they were brought in batches for conspiracy in conspiracy. “The identities of the attackers and the degree of their complicity in the perfect crime are now being clarified,” sources in law enforcement agencies explained “Kommersant”, noting that in the near future the issue of initiating a criminal case will be resolved not only for the smuggling of cultural values (Article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), but also for theft of special historical, scientific, artistic or cultural value, independently, independently From the method of theft (Article 164 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which belong to the category of especially serious crimes and provide for more than ten years in prison.
