Table of Contents

Part I Criminal justice, core values and human rights 21

The power of forgiveness 23

Geert Corstens

Extended confiscation in Spanish law 31

José Luis De La Cuesta

The Europeanisation of modern Russian criminal law 39

Maria Filatova

¿Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? 49

José L. González Cussac

Sobre el problemático gobierno de la magistratura 57

Perfecto Andrés Ibáñez

Placement and protection of transgender persons in prison

An exploration of the human rights standards as developed by the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) 67
Pauline Jacobs

Modernity and danger 77

Ferry de Jong

The Dutch Public Prosecutor under siege

European challenges for the prosecutor’s position in the new Code of
Criminal Procedure 87
Leonie van Lent & Eelke Sikkema
12 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

The rise of universal jurisdiction cases in Europe and the appeal of

joint investigation teams 95
Brianne McGonigle Leyh, Deborah Nidel & Masha Fedorova

Aspectos penales y constitucionales del concepto de eutanasia 103

Miguel Ángel Núñez Paz

Inflation of crimes and punishments and deflation of human rights

and fundamental freedoms 113
Daniel R. Pastor

Torturas y entregas extraordinarias efectuadas por la CIA con la

cooperación de los servicios secretos y gobiernos europeos 121
Guillermo Portilla Contreras

Monedas virtuales y criminalidad: medidas de prevención y su impacto

en Latinoamérica 129
Víctor Roberto Prado Saldarriaga

Criminal law, social justice, and social exclusion 139

Yesid Reyes Alvarado

The current prison crisis in Ecuador 147

Byron Villagómez Moncayo

The chilling effect of prosecution of defamation on the right to

freedom of expression: an urgent call to decriminalize defamation 159
Dirk Voorhoof

Part II Crime, criminology and criminal justice 169

Domestic violence as a new mitigating factor: recognition, reform, and

resentencing 171
Steven W. Becker

Witwassen 181
Hans de Doelder

Demarcation-free thinking in criminology: the case of undermining

criminality or criminal undermining 187
Petrus C. van Duyne & Benny van der Vorm
Table of Contents 13

Autonomous environmental crimes and ecocide 195

Michael Faure

Medidas premiales a favor de la disidencia terrorista 205

Nicolás García Rivas

Fighting the laundering of cultural goods on the antiques market

‘Et lux fuit!’ 213
Augustin Lazăr

Problemas de autoría y participación criminal en el terrorismo

internacional organizado 223
Moisés Moreno Hernández

Icarus’ flight and other Central American experiences in fighting

corruption fostered by transnational criminal organizations
The role of international commissions in Guatemala, Honduras and El
Salvador 233
Hector Olasolo & Federico Freydell Mesa

Corrupción y derechos humanos desde una perspectiva social y

colectiva 243
María José Rodríguez Puerta

Notas sobre el consentimiento hipotético en derecho penal 251

Odone Sanguiné

Criminalising ecocide 261

Daan van Uhm & Cedric Ryngaert

Economics, scientific solipsism, and punitive power 271

E. Raúl Zaffaroni & Ílison Dias dos Santos

Part III Criminal justice and European integration 283

Section A General issues 285

Problemi di costituzionalizzazione dell’Unione Europea 287

Alessandro Bernardi

Hacia un modelo común de decomiso sin condena en la Unión Europea 297

Isidoro Blanco Cordero
14 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

Zur Unanwendbarkeit des mit Art. 325 AEUV unvereinbaren

Strafverfahrensrecht 305
Gerhard Dannecker

Why do criminal courts refer questions for preliminary rulings to the

Court of Justice? 319
André Klip

Towards internationalization and regionalization of criminal policy

and criminal justice – the experience of Finland in a Nordic and
European context 329
Raimo Lahti

To have your cake and eat it too

A short history of the EU’s failure to harmonise pre-trial detention 339
Joep Lindeman

Of simple doors and impenetrable borders: AFSJ agencies and the

Western Balkans 349
Elmin Omičević

Judicial cooperation and the right to an effective remedy 359

Michele Panzavolta

Principle of legality and European justice: an unfinished road 369

Juan M. Terradillos Basoco & María del Mar Martín Aragón

Section B Eurocrimes 377

Hacia la consideración de la ‘violencia de género’ como eurodelito 379

María Acale Sánchez

The protection of the environment by means of criminal law in the

European Union: recent trends and future perspectives 387
Fabio Giuffrida & Peter Csonka

The EU and the protection of the environment through criminal law 397
Luc Lavrysen & Farah Bouquelle

The preventive turn in European criminal Law

Counterterrorism, risk, and the rule of law 407
Valsamis Mitsilegas
Table of Contents 15

When the transgressor is an office-holder: could criminal liability of

public officials help to enforce EU Environmental Law more
effectively? 415
Martin Wasmeier & Giacomo Gattinara

Section C Mutual recognition of judicial decisions 423

Mandatory and optional refusal grounds in mutual recognition

instruments 425
Martin Böse

The role and position of public prosecutors in the application of the

European Investigation Order. A view from the Netherlands 433
Pim Geelhoed & Jannemieke Ouwerkerk

Mutual recognition of confiscation orders in the EU: squaring the

circle? 443
Ciro Grandi

How to deal with rule of law-concerns in surrender procedures? 453

Michiel Luchtman & Stanisław Tosza

Section D Rights of individuals in criminal procedures 463

The innocence of the unknown 465

Silvia Allegrezza

Strengthening the rights of detained persons in the European Union as

a result of the adoption of Directive 2012/13/EU on the right to
information in criminal proceedings 475
Coral Arangüena Fanego

Right to silence in the EU Directive on the presumption of innocence 487

Michele Caianiello

The (EU) perspective on crime victims’ compensation: (no) room for

retribution? 495
Renée S.B. Kool

Effective judicial protection in the EU – Towards an ‘acquis’ in

transnational horizontal enforcement proceedings? 503
Aart de Vries & Rob Widdershoven
16 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

Section E EU authorities 513

EPPO versus national prosecution office

A conflicting case of competence with broader dimensions 515
Lorena Bachmaier Winter

How transparent is the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office?

Reflections on its first year 525
Daniel Beizsley

The admissibility of unlawful OLAF-evidence in EPPO proceedings

and the need for effective judicial protection 533
Koen Bovend’Eerdt & Joske Graat

European Public Prosecutor’s Office’s institutional status and seat 543

Leendert Erkelens & Arjen Meij

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) as a laboratory of

comparative law 553
Vanessa Franssen & Michele Simonato

Five relevant issues raised by the implementation of the European

Public Prosecutor’s Office in Spain 563
Juan-Luis Gómez Colomer & Andrea Planchadell Gargallo

OLAF investigations and fundamental rights: a state of play 571

Jan Inghelram

Will the European Public Prosecutor’s Office negotiate settlements in

France? 579
Juliette Lelieur

Part IV Corporate crime and the enforcement of socio-economic law 587

Enforcing the prohibition against human trafficking: the teaching of

the European Court on Human Rights 589
Filip Dorssemont

Responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas y programas de

cumplimiento en el derecho Argentino 595
Daniel Erbetta
Table of Contents 17

The European Directives regarding the ‘Non-financial Statement’ and

the corporate ‘Sustainability Reporting’
A new step towards a European Economic Criminal Law for the
protection of human rights? 607
Luigi Foffani

Sobre la responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas en México:

algunos aspectos político-criminales, procesales y sustantivos 615
Alejandro González Gómez

Etikettenschwindel or creative government – using private law to

collect public law money claims (a cross-border perspective) 623
Aukje van Hoek & Cathalijne van der Plas

Gas trading in Europe: is the supervision of market abuse keeping up

with the TTF’s pace of growth? 633
Matthijs Nelemans

Justicia restaurativa empresarial: entre la utopia y lo posible 645

Adán Nieto Martín

Responsibility of transnational corporations, supply chains and decent

work 653
Ana Isabel Pérez Cepeda & Miriam Ruiz Arias

Business and human rights – A global shift towards corporate

mandatory due diligence 661
Paola Severino

Stof voor discussie, over de doorwerking en handhaving van het ADR

in het Nederlandse vervoer over de weg van gevaarlijke stoffen 671
Hugo van Steijn

Enkele opmerkingen over opzet in het bijzonder strafrecht 679

Hein Wolswijk

Part V Conflicts and transitional justice 687

Protecting at-risk people in the Americas: what can be expected from

provisional measures adopted by the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights? 689
Clara Burbano-Herrera & Yves Haeck
18 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

Fiscalías internacionalizadas contra la corrupción e impunidad:

Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador 699
Carlos A. Calderón Paz

La política criminal de la transición Española 709

José Luis Díez Ripollés

La llamada justicia transicional o posconflicto (una mirada desde el

cono sur) 719
Carlos Eduardo A. Japiassú & Javier Augusto De Luca

Die Verbrechen gegen Menschlichkeit der Franco-Diktatur und die

Untersuchung vom Untersuchungsrichter Baltasar Garzón 727
Francisco Muñoz Conde

Collective reparations in Colombia: a tool for the non-repetition of

violations? 737
Diana Odier-Contreras Garduno

Dijimos ‘Nunca Más’: la cuestión del genocidio Argentino (1976/83) 747

Alejandro W. Slokar

Las penas en la jurisdicción especial para la paz 759

Fernando Velásquez Velásquez

Contradicciones político-criminales de la justicia transicional en

Colombia 767
John Zuluaga

Part VI Criminal justice and new technologies 775

Artificial intelligence and procedural safeguards in criminal

proceedings 777
Montserrat de Hoyos Sancho

Cybersecurity for Artificial Intelligence e diritto penale: prime

riflessioni nel prisma del diritto europeo 785
Roberto Flor

Advanced data analysis for anticipating future risks of terrorism: new

regulatory challenges 793
Marianne Hirsch Ballin
Table of Contents 19

The challenges of new technologies for European criminal law 805

Lorenzo Picotti

Inteligencia artificial, falsas noticias y discursos de odio 815

Marcelo A. Riquert

Processi decisionali basati sull’intelligenza artificiale ed eventi lesivi

Brevi considerazioni sui profili penali 825
Ivan Salvadori

List of contributors 835

 Fighting the laundering of cultural
goods on the antiques market
‘Et lux fuit!’

Augustin Lazăr

1 Introduction

1.1 The Illicit trade in cultural goods in Europe report covers essential information
about illegal trade in cultural goods in Europe: the source, transit and destination of
illicitly traded goods; routes, trends and patterns of traffic, operations and stakeholders. In
order to fight trafficking effectively, the study provides concrete recommendations and
measures, including codes for offences and fighting against money laundering, to be
taken by the EU and its Member States:

Recommendation: Specific codes for registering offences concerning illicit trade in

cultural goods in the systems of customs and police should be created.
Cases that are picked up by law enforcement for further investigation and
potential prosecution may be approached from a money laundering angle.
Trafficking in cultural goods often occurs alongside money laundering and money
laundering has a burden of proof that is easier to satisfy and has higher sanctions.
In such cases, the criminal case is likely to be recorded as a money laundering case
and not as a case concerning the illicit trade in cultural goods, which also impacts
the statistics.1

Recommendations are based on the new jurisprudential approach of some Member

States, e.g., Romania, on combating trafficking of antiquities in terms of money
laundering. The study notes the development of online trade in illicit cultural
goods and the difficulties of enforcing the law on sales involving anonymous or
pseudonymous accounts.
An analysis of recent decisions by the High Court of Cassation and Justice
(HCCJ), and other courts in Romania, reveals the new frontier of the jurisprudence

1. N. Brodie & D. Yates, Illicit trade in cultural goods in Europe, European Commission Directorate-
General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, 2019, p. 83.
214 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

of money laundering and artefacts, of the recovery of emblematic cultural heritage

goods. Recovery was achieved through European evidence warrants (EEW), goods
or evidence freezing orders and European investigation orders (EIO). In this
context, we note the voluntary restitution by the holders, under the 1995 UNIDROIT
Convention, the reimbursement of compensation for the bona fide holders and of
expenses with the expert reports and restitution.

1.2 In the Romanian criminal system, money laundering is incriminated by Art. 49

of Law No. 129/2019:2
(1) The following constitute the crime of money laundering and are punishable
by imprisonment from 3 to 10 years:
a) conversion or transfer of goods, knowing that they are derived from criminal
activity, for concealing or disgusting their illicit origin or assisting the person who
committed the crime involving said goods evade prosecution, trial or execution of
punishment;
b) concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition,
transit or ownership of goods or rights thereupon, knowing that they are derived
from criminal activity;
c) acquisition, possession or use of goods by a person other than the active
subject of the crime involving said goods, knowing that they are derived from
criminal activity.
(2) The attempt shall be punished.
In the case money laundering – proceeds of cultural heritage crimes – the
specificity is highlighted by thematerial element of the crime and the typical intention:
committing the crime to conceal or disguise the illicit origin of goods.
The material element of money laundering consists of an action achievable in
seven alternative ways: conversion, transfer, concealment, disguise, acquisition,
possession or use. Achieving the material element in any way leads to the
consummation of the crime.
The conversion is conducted through illegal operations of transformation of
cultural goods: dismantling/dividing in batches, cleaning, restoration, conservation,
creating the appearance of collectibles.
The transfer consists in the transfer of ownership of cultural goods or of their
rights, knowing that they are derived from criminal activity (placing in established
collections, in the legal circuit of the antiquities market, in the legal economic-financial
circuit).
Concealing or disguising the true nature, origin, location, disposition, transit or
ownership of cultural goods or rights thereupon, knowing that they are derived

2. Law No. 129/11.07.2019 on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorism
financing, amended and supplemented, Official Journal No. 589, 18.07.2019.
Fighting the laundering of cultural goods on the antiques market 215

from criminal activity (false documents/misrepresentations regarding origin, illegal

restoration operations).
The acquisition, possession or use consist in obtaining the property, possessing or
using an asset of criminal origin, knowing that it is derived from criminal activity.

2 The analysed case law

The analysed case law covers the actions of criminal networks, between 1997-2007,
carried out in a turbulent international context (former Yugoslavia, 11 September
2001), financed by illegal market stakeholders. Using metal detectors, looters stole
important treasures from the Sarmizegetusa Regia (SR) UNESCO archeological site,
former capital of the Kingdom of Dacia (1st c. BC – 2nd c. AD), located in the
Carpathians, Transylvania, Romania. They laundered thousands of ancient coins:
Roman denarii, Koson and Lysimachos gold staters, 24 spiral bracelets (115 kg of
gold artefacts, worth EUR 25,000,000).

2.1 The case of laundering the Koson monetary hoard from the UNESCO SR site, the
Dacian shields from the Red Stone Fortress site and Lex Troesmensium plaques.
On 11 June 2020, Alba Iulia Court of Appeal (CA) sentenced a Romanian citizen
defendant to 4 years in prison, with suspension under supervision for 7 years, for
money laundering. It found that the defendant committed three material actions of
laundering stolen goods: sale of two Dacian shields (illegally restored), acquisition
and possession of 145 Koson gold coins (chemically cleaned) and laundering of
Troesmis city law plaque. The Court ordered the special confiscation of 145 Koson
gold coins and two bronze epigraphic plaques and admitted the civil action of the
Ministry of Culture, ordering the defendant to pay RON 160,741 (EUR 33,000) to
the Romanian State, representing compensation paid to a USA company, bona fides
holder, which voluntarily returned two Dacian shields (Art. 3 of UNIDROIT
Convention). The Court ordered the defendant to pay the expenses incurred for the
assets’ repatriation.3
CA Alba Iulia also found the recovery of a gold spiral bracelet of 764.94g,
noting that the defendant listed it for auction on an anonymous e-Bay account, then
sold it to the company A.G. NY for $ 30,000, a price paid by bank transfer. The
defendant disguised the illicit origin, stating the bracelet was legally introduced in
the USA from Albania.4
eBay Inc. data indicated the link between the defendant’s email address and
anonymous accounts, e.g., ‘domprofesor’ on www.ebay.com, through which he
laundered stolen artefacts, as an e-bay member, a seemingly trustworthy
anonymous dealer. On 10 November 2005, he listed the Goldarmband, 1st c. B.C.

3. CA Alba Iulia, Criminal Section, case file 1335/97/2017*, Decision no. 333/11.06.2020.
4. CA Alba Iulia, Criminal Section, case file 04652/221/2008*, Decision no. 254/2018.
216 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

artefact for auction for $ 38,000. The auction of 23 November 2005 listed the
‘Inscribed bronze plaque, city law, 2nd c. A.D.’ piece for $ 48,000: ‘Inscribed bronze
plaque, Latin, Roman Provincial city law, 169-177 A.D. 67x54 cm., 21 kg.’ noting:
‘This plaque was attached on the wall of some public building for general information
during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It set the rules for sending legates.’
The undercover investigator accessed the defendant’s websites, finding
multiple sale offers: coins and artefacts, worth EUR 30,676, specific to the looted
site.

2.2 The case of laundering the 3,600-gold coin hoard, stolen from the UNESCO SR site
In August 1998, a criminal group stole from the SR site, through unauthorised
detections, an ancient hoard of Lysimach, Asander and Pharnakes II 3,600 gold
staters (approx. 30 kg), worth EUR 3,794,550. The coins were placed, thus
concealing their criminal origin, on the international market of antiquities at
auction houses in Europe and the USA. The Court sentenced 4 defendants for
aggravated theft, illegal export of cultural goods and money laundering, to
punishments totalling 15 years in prison.5
To disguise the illicit origin, the convicts divided the hoard into 400 – 600-piece
batches, then used an original laundering scheme. The batches illegally exported to
Munich were handed over to a Chicago company agent. The coins were then sent
to the American company by post, and those not sold in the USA were returned by
Federal Express (FE) to Munich. After the payment of customs duties, ‘laundered’
pieces, disguised as coins from the USA, were sold in auction houses in Munich.
Judicial cooperation with German authorities enabled the finding of the shipment
documents through FE services. The documents attest, for example, the shipment
from Chicago to Munich of a 2 kg package of gold coins, originating from Romania
and the agent’s payment of the customs duty of EUR 5,956.40.
The moneys, proceeds of crime, were laundered in typical ways: the purchase of
securities, bank deposits, exotic trips, real estates, cars, and a carwash in the name of
relatives but managed by the convict. The modernised carwash laundered the cash
from the sale of the treasure, through a periodic crediting scheme, as a ‘personal
contribution of the director’.
Several coin batches were returned, voluntarily, by a British trader. The bona
fide holder was paid fair compensation for the cost of the coins and the repatriation
expenses. For paying the legal compensation, the Ministry of Culture demanded in
court to be reimbursed by the convicts found guilty (Art. 3, 4 of the Convention).

2.3 The case of artefacts stolen from Dobrogea sites, restored and laundered through
eBay, and money transferred through Western Union and Money Gram. The
defendant, a professional trader, former Romanian citizen, settled in Germany,

5. CA Alba Iulia, Criminal Section, case file 7525/97/2012, Decision no. 1102/2016/23.03.2018.
Fighting the laundering of cultural goods on the antiques market 217

knowing the looters and that artefacts originated from crimes in archaeological
sites, acquired and owned 7,811 stolen coins and archaeological goods. He
converted the artefacts through cleaning operations into collectible-looking pieces
to conceal or disguise their true nature of origin and ownership.
eBay information identified the user’s sales. Information from the financial
services companies revealed transactions of EUR 32,000.
The defendant was sentenced to 3 years in prison for money laundering. As
complementary punishment, he was banned from Romanian archaeological sites
for 5 years.6

3 Recovery procedure

3.1 Between 2005 and 2011, the Romanian judicial authorities recovered, through
Operation ‘Dacian Gold’, 13 Dacian bracelets pertaining to 4 treasures (12,663 kg)
from New York, Zurich, Paris, Geneva, Munich, Sofia and Hunedoara. Several legal
instruments were used: the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, instruments of
international legal assistance and undercover investigators. The ‘Law of Silence’
was penetrated by the Unidroit Convention, the key legal instrument for the recovery of
stolen goods, in conjunction with the European Evidence Warrant. The Ministry of
Culture cooperated with bona fides traders, adopting a guide of good practices in the
application of the Convention, provisional measures for the conservation of
artefacts in the office of the neutral expert. The owners submitted notarial
declarations, documents regarding the purchase expenses and verification of the
lawful origin. The Ministry and the bona fide holders reached amicable agreements,
mediated by the neutral expert, regarding the payment of the fair compensation provided
by Art. 4: the cost of the artefact, the transport expenses and the lawyer’s/notary’s
fee. By paying the compensation, the Ministry of Culture reserved the right to
demand in court to be reimbursed by the persons guilty of the theft of the artefacts
(Art. 4 para. 3).
The UNIDROIT Convention led to the recovery of emblematic artefacts belonging
to the treasure of the Kingdom of Dacia and plundered by treasure hunters. About
23 kg of recovered pieces of gold jewelry, monetary treasures were added to the
patrimony collections of the National Museum of Romanian History (NMRH) in
Bucharest.7

3.2 The European evidence warrant, governed by EC Framework Decision

2003/577/JHA of 22 July 2003, is an effective instrument of international judicial
cooperation on the enforcement of EU goods or evidence freezing orders.

6. Bucharest Tribunal, 1st Criminal Section, case file 1338/3/2019, Sentence no. 603/18.06.2020,
www.rolii.ro.
7. A. Lazăr, ‘Royal Dacian bracelets, wanted by Interpol’, Academia Letters, 2021, Article 428, https://
doi.org/10.20935/AL428.
218 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

Romanian judicial authorities used EEW, in cooperation with the central authority
of the United Kingdom, obtaining the repatriation of Koson coins and of epigraphic
plaques as material means of proof of money laundering. Deciding to convict the
defendant for money laundering, the Court ordered the special confiscation of coins
and epigraphic plaques, frozen through EEW.8
Likewise, 7,811 antique artefacts, discovered at the defendant’s home in
Germany, were repatriated through EEW, in various stages of illegal restoration.

3.3 Transposition of Directive 2014/41/EU of 3 April 2014 in national laws

imposed the European investigation order as effective tool in evidence
management. Through the EIO, a gold Lysimach stater (Italy), documents
regarding bank accounts and lockers (Germany), an antique coin and documents
seized at a home search (France) were delivered to the Romanian authorities.

4 Authentication procedure

4.1 The criminal origin of the £28,000 worth Lex Troesmensium plaques sold to the
London auction house, using a false statement that their origin was a private Dutch
collection, was proved by expert evidence: ‘striations with a relatively rectilinear
shape identified on the surface of plaque B may be the result of recent mechanical
interventions, in the already known context of destruction of the archaeological
site.’ The comparative analysis of deposits and soil samples from the site proved
highly relevant. The epigraphic specialists found that Lex Troesmensium plaques
belong to rare gallery of Roman city laws, dating from 1st c. BC-2nd c. BC.9

4.2 In the case of the 145 Koson coin batch deposited at the British Museum, the expert
found that the pieces, worth EUR 101,500, ‘are authentic, come from UNESCO
protected sites..., being stolen from the site of the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa
Regia’. The same noted the cleaning by washing operation, illustrated in the coin
images no. 136, ‘the presence of traces...of detergent used to wash coins’.10

4.3 Regarding the identified Roman denarii, the experts state: ‘All 1,658
coins...represent authentic ancient issues: republican Roman denarii (1,506 pieces)
and imperial ones from Augustus (2 pieces), as well as Dacian imitations...’.
Valuing the coins at EUR 222,525, the report concludes that ‘most of the coins

8. CA Alba Iulia, Criminal Section, case file 1335/97/2017*, Decision no. 333/11.06.2020.
9. W. Eck, ‘La loi municipale de Troesmis: données juridiques et politiques d’une inscription
récemment découverte’, Revue historique de droit français et étranger No. 2, 2013, pp. 199-370. See
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:170s?uselang=ro#/media/
File:Tablilla_de_bronce_-_LEX_TROESMENSIUM.jpg.
10. CA Alba Iulia, Criminal Section, case file 1335/97/2017*, Decision no. 333/11.06.2020.
Fighting the laundering of cultural goods on the antiques market 219

examined were subjected to mechanical and chemical cleaning operations by persons

who had both specific technical knowledge and the necessary tools...’.11

4.4 Experts of the National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering Horia
Hulubei, Bucharest and NMRH of Bucharest authenticated the spirals,using X-ray
fluorescence (XRF). The Arheomet scientific project expanded the study with experts
from European institutes, the investigative technology including micro-PIXE
(AGLAE Paris accelerator) and micro-SR-XRF (BESSY Berlin synchrotron)
measurements. The spirals were shown to consist of a natural alloy of gold, silver
and copper, with trace elements of tin and antimony, characteristic for identifying
the type of gold and the region of origin.12
Bracelet no. 5 was also examined, with similar results, by Pieter Meyers, L.A.,
USA, by the method of laser ablation-induced plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-
MS) and by the Louvre Museum Laboratory, Paris. All the investigations of the
alloy structure of the bracelets reveal their manufacture from native gold, with the
‘imprint of the composition’ specific to the famous ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ of
Transylvania, located approximately 80-150 km from Dacia’s capital, Sarmizegetusa
Regia.
The decorative elements characteristic of the spirals are the heads of winged
dragons. These are the prototype of the famous draco dacicus (known as the Dacian
wolf) from the time of the last king, Decebalus. The key to understanding winged
snakes from the spirals is found in the Dacian banners representing the wolf-
headed dragon depicted on Trajan’s Column. Experts interpreted the prestigious
ornaments and numerous monetary treasures as ritual offerings dedicated to the
gods deposited in places of religious significance.13
The emblematic force of the Dacian authority symbol is visible even after two
millennia, in 2019, the banner rendered on spirals, as well as on Trajan’s Column,
the stylized Dacian wolf, becoming the logo of the Romanian Presidency of the EU
Council, as an expression of European identity.14

5 Fair judicial procedure

Independent expert judgment, invoked by the defense, was established by the

court through the appointment of specialists of the Romanian Academy, as well as

11. PCA Alba Iulia, case file 440/P/2008, Expert report, vol. I, pp. 245-323.
12. B. Constantinescu et al., ‘Dacian bracelets and Transylvanian gold: ancient history and modern
analyses’, ArcheoSciences, 33, 2009, pp. 221-225.
13. E. Oberländer-Târnoveanu, ‘13 out of 24... the royal Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetuza
Regia’, in A. Lazăr, P.G. Ferri, M.M. Ciută (Eds.), Fighting the trafficking in cultural goods: recovering
the past, Bucharest, Universul Juridic Publishing House, 2013, p. 127.
14. See www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150320-romanian-dacian-sarmizegetusa-gold-
looted-recovered; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacian_Draco#/media/File:Romania--
s_Presidency-of-the-European-Union-2019.jpg.
220 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

European experts. Thus, the Court found compliance with the jurisprudence of the
ECHR, which enshrines the need for independence of experts, witnesses, from one
of the parties to the conflict (Romanian State), guaranteeing defendants the
effective right to defense, through objective evidence. The case was taken over
from the British authorities in accordance with the ne bis in idem principle.
On 17 December 2014, the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania,
judging on appeal the first case, sentenced 11 defendants for setting up an
organized criminal group and for aggravated theft of cultural property, to
sentences totaling 45 years in prison. It obliged two groups of defendants to return,
in kind, to the civil party the Romanian State, represented by the Ministry of
Culture, the treasures containing 10 and 5 stolen artefacts or to pay, jointly and
severally, the amounts of EUR 1,115,760, respectively EUR 446,304. The Court
noted, inter alia, that between May 2000 and May 2001, the defendants as members
of a criminal group carried out illegal detections at the Sarmizegetusa Regia
archeological site and stole two treasures containing 15 Dacian gold bracelets
(approx. 15 kg). The bracelets were illegally exported, then sold in auction houses
in the EU and the USA.15

6 Interpol

Through INTERPOL, Romanian authorities are seeking 11 spirals and thousands of

stolen coins which appeared – as sensational discoveries – at auctions in New York,
Chicago and Paris. Harlan Berk, a Chicago merchant, stated: ‘The sellers never told
us anything about the origin of the coins.’ Christie’s House claimed: ‘At that time
there was no request from Romania for this article, so we were not aware of any
issue of cultural property.’16
On 18 December 2000, the batch of 1,656 Roman republican denarii and imitations
thereof was discovered by the Police buried in the flower bed of a looter’s yard in
the area of the UNESCO SR site. Expert Philip Davies studied the batch of denarii
sold by HD Rauch Vienna, publishing in Nemus, Apulum magazines and on his
website, http://rrimitations.ancients.info/index.htm: around ‘2001, a large coin
hoard was found in Romania. This consisted of approximately 5,000 Roman
Republican denarii...and nearly 100 Dacian imitations of Republican denarii’. The
author focused the article on a ‘remarkable subset of...coins from this hoard...
longest such sequence yet identified in the entire Dacian imitative coinage’.17
Regarding the Geto-Dacian imitations of Roman republican denarii laundered
through inclusion in the Richard B. Witschonke collection of the American
Numismatic Society, a recent study states: ‘No other private collection in the world

15. HCCJ, Criminal Section, case file 41/97/2005, Decision no. 3152/17.12.2014.
16. A. Curry, ‘Gold Looted from Ancient Empire Returned to Romania’, National Geographic, In Focus,
March 20, 2015.
17. P. Davis, ‘A Die-Linked Sequence of Dacian Denarii’, Apulum, XLIII/1, 2006, pp. 321-356.
Fighting the laundering of cultural goods on the antiques market 221

could vaunt such a high number of Geto-Dacian imitations, with the only possible
exception of the one once owned by Phillip Davis.’ This ‘was partly sold in a
Gemini Auction in 2012 (batches 583–767).’18 The Romanian authorities’
investigations, through a rogatory commission in the USA, targeted the batches
sold by Davis in the 2012 Gemini auction.
On 8 December 1999, Christie’s NY House put up for auction a gold bracelet,
stolen from the Sarmizegetusa site in 1999 and valued at $ 100,000. It is pursued
along with 800 Lysimach gold coins. A gold bracelet weighing 1,098g was analyzed
on 24 June 2000, at the Brussels Art Laboratory, Nuclear Section, Institut Superieur
Industriel de Bruxelles. On 22 August 2000, a pair of bracelets, of 1,075g and 1,103g,
were shown to expert B. Deppert-Lippitz from Frankfurt am Main, who refused
authentication. Two gold bracelets were presented to expert Peter Northover at
Oxford, one being analyzed on 27 October 2000, by the Department of Materials
Begbroke Science and Business Park, Oxford. On 9 March 2002, a journalist,
penetrating the network of traffickers, in an investigative report, presented a spiral
for sale: ‘What you see here in my hand is a solid gold bracelet, hidden by one of
the searchers in this area, a bracelet that any museum in the world would like to
have. It weighs about 1,500 grams. It’s incredible!’19

7 Conclusions

7.1 The trafficking and laundering of illicit artefacts are constantly increasing, by
introducing the proceeds of heritage crimes on the online market. Fighting against them
requires developing the capacity to monitor, identify and investigate laundering in
online sales, granting powers to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the
matter of cross-border traffic, including cultural goods.

7.2 Use of scientific evidence, forensic experts and new technologies are essential in
proving the laundering, recovery and authentication of artefacts, as well as finding
out the truth through fair criminal trial, with impartial expertise and observing the
right to defence. The scientific community has confirmed the role of artefacts as
important pieces in disseminating European cultural identity. Prestigious scientific
findings on authenticity significantly countered an orchestrated fake news media
campaign designed to cast doubt in favour of criminal groups.
Case law proves the functionality of international legal instruments (European
evidence warrant, freezing order, European investigation order, UNIDROIT

18. L. Carbone, ‘Geto-Dacian imitations of roman republican denarii: proto-Dacian state or slave
trade?’, American Numismatic Society, June 23, 2020, p.1, https://numismatics.org/pocketchange/
dacia/ (accessed 10.07.2022).
19. Hunedoara Court, case file 41/97/2005; D. Dimancescu, The Golden Spiral: and the Looting of 2,000-
Year-Old Transylvanian Treasure, Boston, BtFPress, 2017, pp. 62-64; documentary: ‘The Hunt for
Transylvanian Gold’, Kogainon Films, Boston, Massachusetts.
222 Of swords and shields: due process and crime control in times of globalization

Convention of 1995). These mechanisms will be used for the repatriation of

laundered cultural goods, tracked by the INTERPOL, such as: 11 gold spirals,
thousands of ancient coins and artefacts that have fallen into the wrong hands, but
which will hopefully find their rightful place in the Romanian Historical Treasury
collections in the future.