A Dutch man claims he was offered stolen goods from the Green Vault. He could buy it back for 40,000 euros. The Dresden State Art Collections give him the money, and he flees with it. Now he is to be charged with commercial fraud.
In connection with the burglary in the Dresden Green Vault, the public prosecutor’s office has brought charges against a Dutchman who apparently received money for the alleged return of stolen goods. The 54-year-old is suspected of commercial fraud, the authority said. He is said to have posed as a diamond dealer and claimed that part of the loot was offered for sale for €40,000.
As the public prosecutor announced in November, he is said to have pretended that he was offered the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle, a jewel of the Green Vault. It is also said that he claimed to buy the piece and want to return it to the Dresden State Art Collections. They would have given him 40,000 euros. He then fled with the money.
The man already has a significant and relevant criminal record in the Netherlands, and he has been in prison there since March 2022 on another matter. The District Court of Dresden issued a European Arrest Warrant against him. He was brought to Germany in the fall and has been in custody ever since. The Dresden district court will now decide whether to admit the charges.
During the burglary in the Green Vault in November 2019, culturally and historically valuable jewelery from the 18th century was stolen. Six defendants are therefore currently being tried before the district court. Three of them admitted involvement in the crime. A large part of the loot is now back in the inventory of the State Art Collections.
