Dutch court: "Crimean gold" belongs to Ukraine

"Crimean gold" was exhibited in a museum in Amsterdam in 2014. But after the Russian annexation of Crimea, there was a dispute about who it belongs to - the occupiers or the Ukrainian state? The dispute is now settled - in favor of Ukraine.

The gold artifacts, some of which are more than 2.000 years old, originating from four museums on the Crimean peninsula, belong to Ukraine, the ruling said.

The High Court of the Netherlands in The Hague decided that these precious cultural assets must be returned to Ukraine. This confirmed the first-instance verdict from 2021 and ended the legal dispute after almost seven years.

The cultural treasures of Crimea arrived in the Dutch capital back in 2014 and were exhibited in Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum at an exhibition called "Crimea: Gold and Secrets from the Black Sea". It is about hundreds of items, including "Scythian gold", precious stones, weapons and masks.

Both Crimean museums and the Ukrainian state demanded the return of the gold

In the spring of 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. Then, after the end of the exhibition, the Amsterdam museum decided not to return the precious objects, because it was not sure who their rightful owner was.

And four Crimean museums, which are now under Russian administration, demanded that the disputed items be returned to them based on the exhibition contract. And the Ukrainian state has also submitted a request for the return of national cultural property.

Courts at all instances have ruled in favor of Ukraine as the legal owner.

"The state of Ukraine has a legitimate interest in the protection of its cultural heritage," reads the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The "Crimean gold" is taken care of by the Amsterdam museum, which keeps it in a secret location.

Of the 432 exhibited objects, 19 of them come from the museum in Kiev, and the other 413 exhibits came to the Netherlands from four Crimean museums.

Among the exhibits are, among others, a 2.400-year-old golden helmet worn by the Scythians, as well as 2.000-year-old precious Chinese lacquer boxes from the Han Dynasty, filigree brooches and gold sword scabbards.