While 130 ancient pieces stolen from the Saint-Rémi museum in Reims in 2023 had never been found, the Russian authorities announced Tuesday, March 25, that they had seized 79 gold coins from the 1st to the 5th century probably from this collection.
The Russian authorities initially contacted Interpol to compare the parts found with the register of stolen parts. After confirmation that these were ancient parts stolen in Reims, the Russian police have searched in an antiquity shop in Moscow and in several collectors. Parts whose value is estimated at around 55 million rubles (around 607,200 euros) have been entered.
A discussion concerning the restitution should take place between France and Russia. In parallel, the policies continue to cooperate as part of Interpol.
The culture assistant of the city of Reims Pascal Labelle expressed his hope to Here to recover the parts: “The descriptions of the pieces that we had given were quite clear and especially quite precise on the Roman pieces which are the rarest since they date from the 1st to the 5th century, there are not that much in circulation necessarily or put to sale, and that’s what they were caught I imagine … and if we can recover them is very good news for the museum. »»
The museum staff had noted in 2023 the theft of the Roman, medieval and modern pieces which were kept in the reserves, during an inventory. The city of Reims then filed a complaint and the investigation is still in progress.
In 2024, five individuals had been indicted in Reims as part of an organized gang flight case that started in 2018. These flights were reportedly made in three city museums: the Saint-Rémi museum, the Fort de la Pompelle and the municipal conservation center. Among these five people, a night watchman from the Saint-Rémi museum was incarcerated for theft and concealment in an organized gang. The investigation also revealed the possible role of Pierre Malinowski, a former parliamentary assistant installed in Russia, who would be the flight sponsor.
