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Breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle: available for 40,000 euros?
Photo: Jürgen Karpinski/ dpa
Two men broke into the historic Green Vault Dresden in November 2019 and stole jewels worth millions.
To this day there is no trace of the jewellery.
A Dutchman has now enriched himself from the distress of the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD).
The man allegedly claimed to a well-known art detective that he was offered a piece of the loot.
He therefore stated that he wanted to buy the piece of jewelery offered to him - the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle - and return it to the SKD.
According to the Dresden public prosecutor, the 54-year-old posed as a diamond dealer from Antwerp.
»Extraordinary art expertise«
Since the art detective has already been successfully involved in the return of stolen works of art on several occasions and the information provided by the accused initially sounded plausible from the police point of view, the initiative provided the 40,000 euros stated as the purchase price.
At a meeting on December 27, 2021 with representatives of the SKD and the art detective, the man showed "extraordinary art expertise" in a lengthy conversation, according to the public prosecutor's office.
He was given the money to buy back the jewelry, but the 54-year-old fled with the money.
The suspect had been in custody since early March
The identity of the Dutchman could be clarified quickly, according to the public prosecutor.
The man had "considerable and relevant criminal records" in his home country.
In May 2022, the District Court of Dresden issued a European Arrest Warrant, which was executed last week after the accused had been transferred to Germany.
The man has been in custody since the beginning of March on another matter and has not yet commented on the allegations.
The investigations are ongoing "and will take some time."
During the break-in of the world-famous Treasury Museum, the perpetrators stole 21 pieces of jewelry with diamonds and brilliants worth a total of over 113 million euros.
In the course of the investigation, six suspects were arrested, the trial for serious gang theft, arson and particularly serious arson has been going on at the Dresden Regional Court since the end of January.
swe/dpa/afp