Report: Paintings stolen from Hoorn museum surfaces in Ukraine

Paintings that were stole from the Westfries Museum in Horn in 2005, surfaced in the hands of a nationalist militia in Ukraine, the Telegraaf reports. The paintings involved, 24 works of arts by Dutch painters, are worth several million euros. According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian militia is demanding tens of millions of euros for their return. "Our collection is in the hands of corrupt people, deep in the Ukrainian political elite", museum director Ad Geerdink said to the newspaper. "They refuse to give back the paintings and only want one thing: to earn rough money at the expense of our cultural heritage." Stolen art expert Arthur Brand traveled to the Ukraine to negotiate for the paintings on behalf of the museum. He managed to talk to the militia leader, but could not reach a deal. In January Brand announced that he tracked the stolen paintings to a criminal gang. The Westfries Museum will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on Monday about the case.