Smuggled archaeological items to be returned from Germany to Bulgaria
At a ceremony in Berlin on September 19, Bulgaria’s Culture Minister Boil Banov was to be handed archaeological finds acquired through illegal excavations and illegally exported from Bulgaria, his ministry said in a statement.
The valuable items were confiscated after an attempt to sell them on the antique market. The bust was made possible by effective co-operation between Bulgaria and German law enforcement, the Culture Ministry said.
With the assistance of the German federal government and the Bulgarian embassy in Berlin, the archaeological items will be returned to Bulgaria.
Banov, who is on a one-day visit to Germany, will hold talks with representatives of various institutions to discuss the possibilities for expanding bilateral exchanges in all fields of art and culture, the ministry said.
