Europol and Interpol Pandora operation helps find Scythian gold stolen in Ukraine
The eighth edition of an operation against international art trafficking, codenamed ‘Pandora’, led to the arrest of 85 persons and recovery of over 6,400 cultural goods, including from Ukraine.
Led by Spain (Guardia Civil), with the support of Europol and INTERPOL, the operation saw the involvement of customs and law enforcement authorities from 25 countries.
During Pandora VIII, several thousand checks were carried out at airports, ports and border crossing points, as well as in auction houses, museums and private residences. Law enforcement also patrolled the web and conducted over 6,000 online checks, which led to the recovery of 580 stolen goods. Across the involved countries, around 113 criminal and 137 administrative cases are still ongoing, with more arrests and seizures anticipated.
In an investigation carried out by the Spanish National Police (Policia Nacional) in collaboration with the Security Service of Ukraine (Служба безпеки України), 11 items valued at more than €60 million were recovered. The criminal case involved money laundering and illicit trafficking of archaeological gold items stemming from the ‘Scythian’ culture, which had been stolen in Ukraine and smuggled to Spain.
Operation Pandora, which was first launched in 2016, is an annual law enforcement operation. It is carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
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