The Prosecutor General of Ukraine stated that cultural values stolen from Ukrainian museums began to appear on the international black market.
This was stated by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin in an interview with “Voice of America”.
With the support of the US Attorney General, a meeting was held in Washington with a special FBI team specializing in the investigation of crimes against cultural heritage. He noted that Russia is resorting to theft of cultural values, and these artifacts are now sold on the black market.
“In addition to the systematic destruction of cultural heritage, Russia is resorting to another crime – the theft of cultural values. These artifacts, stolen from our museums and archaeological sites, are now appearing on the international black market. We already have enough evidence to open new criminal proceedings regarding these crimes,” the Prosecutor General said.
He also noted that thanks to close cooperation with the FBI and the US Department of Justice, it was possible to collect all the necessary data.
“Based on the information received, we created a special unit in my office. This unit deals not only with the investigation of cases of destruction of cultural heritage as a result of shelling, but also cases when our cultural heritage is tried to be illegally sold abroad,” Kostin said.