Orthodox priest, Spaniards caught trying to sell Ukraine’s Scythian gold for €60m

An Orthodox priest, two Ukrainians, and three Spaniards have been detained while trying to sell in Madrid Scythian gold worth EUR 60 million, stolen from Ukraine in 2014-2020, Ukraine’s security service, or SBU, said on Tuesday.

In an operation together with the Spanish police, SBU detained five smugglers and seized 11 gold items of Ukraine's cultural heritage worth EUR 60 million.

Those include gold earrings, a pendant, chokers and a pectoral dating back to the eighth and fourth centuries BC, SBU said.

The investigation believes the Ukrainians and Spaniards were illegally moving the artefacts out of Ukraine for six years.

The Spanish police said that the items allegedly belonged to a Ukrainian orthodox church but did not elaborate further.

The smugglers were caught red-handed during another shipment, SBU added.