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This was clarified after a long-term investigation by officials of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Office, the Criminal Customs Service and employees of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.
The investigation was initiated by officers when an attempt was made to send archaeological finds from Lithuania to Austria by mail: two parts of a sword, the final lining of a sword scabbard, and an inserted spear. They are suspected to be typical of Lithuanian and northeastern European archaeological material and may have been found or excavated in the territory of Lithuania during illegal excavations.
Aleksandras Višniakovas, a resident of the Vilnius district, sent these archaeological findings without declaring them and without special permission. The customs officials who initiated the pre-trial investigation of the contraband went to the sender’s home; A search of the living and auxiliary facilities revealed a large number of ancient valuables.
While investigators clarified its origins, Department of Cultural Heritage officials monitored the space online to identify violations of the removal of cultural values, including archaeological findings. In the course of this investigation, a Vilnius consumer was found to be selling archaeological finds and antiquities of historical, scientific and cultural value on the popular e-commerce website eBay.
“Any person, whether natural or legal, must obtain a permit (license) to participate in the specified activity in order to acquire, sell or dispose of the archaeological finds, the licenses are issued by the Department of Cultural Heritage,” stated the Chief Inspector of the Department. “The activities carried out under the license are supervised, the control questionnaires are completed and the archaeological findings are saved.”
According to him, since 2012. Cherriesfamily, a registered user in the eBay system, has sold 26 archaeological finds from Lithuania, which are worth around 13 thousand euros.
The investigation revealed that the seller was A. Višniakov, the same man who attempted to smuggle archaeological finds into Austria. According to heritage conservationists, after inspecting the antiques sold in the online store, it was discovered that some of them were seized during a search of A. Višniakov’s house.
The securities for sale had great historical, scientific and cultural value in the 15th century. The arkebuz pipeline sold for $ 7,000. USD, III-VI c. harness details – for 2 thousand. USD, IX-XI c. bearded ax, bows 1000-800 m. BC for $ 1,500. The cost of akinakas V-III a. BC, the spearhead of the sleeve 1 thousand. years before Christ, X c. beams, statuettes IV c. BC, plated at vaginal end of sword IX-X c., Plated at vaginal end of scramasax IX-X c., Rings, pendant and ritual ax IX-XI c. and others
Some antiques by A. Višniakovas for 1.9 thousand. As a result, the police launched another pre-trial investigation into commercial activities without a license issued by the Department of Culture to trade in archaeological finds.
A resident of the Vilnius district who was prosecuted stated that he had been collecting historical objects for approximately 35 years: coins, buttons, and other objects of historical value.
“I bought them on eBay, I also exchanged them with collectors, and I bought the items I sent to Austria from a man living in Denmark,” said Višniakov. – I brought them to Lithuania and decided to sell them. A buyer appeared, paid the money. I thought that if I bought in the European Union and sold the same products in the European Union, then there was no need to declare them. “
A. Višniakovas stated that he has been selling archaeological finds since 2013.
“At first, this business was active, trading went well, but since about 2017. Profits have dropped significantly,” the man in charge of a company said he had bought many items abroad and had purchase documents.
“Some things remained after my father’s death, as well as some things I did a long time ago, in 1980-1990. I found him with a metal detector on the ground,” explained the collector.
He acknowledged that both as a natural person and the company he administered were not licensed to sell and buy archaeological finds, but later, when the pre-trial investigation into the illegal activity began, he had already obtained that license.
“A couple of years ago, when the bank saw that the money was being transferred to my account, it informed the State Tax Inspectorate, they verified me as a natural person and I had to pay taxes for this trade,” Višniakov said.
During the investigation, experts discovered that almost all the objects found in Višniakov have lasting historical, scientific and cultural value, most of them are typical of archaeological material from northern and eastern Europe and could have been found or excavated during illegal excavations. Some objects are characteristic of the Lithuanian and Latvian archaeological material belonging to the Baltic tribes and may also have been found or excavated during illegal excavations.
Judge Mindaugas Povilanskas of the Vilnius Regional District Court fined defendant A. Višniakovas for MGL 100 (€ 5,000) for engaging in illegal business activities.
“During the examination of the case in court, it was established that A. Višniakov committed this criminal act by being convicted of an intentional crime and in the absence of a (repeat) conviction,” states the criminal order issued by the court.
At that time, the court fined the collector 80 MGL (3,000 euros) last year for smuggling.
Previously, A. Višniakovas was also convicted of arms trafficking: A scandal broke out in Lithuania a few years ago, during which it became clear that the captain of General Jonas Žemaitis’s Lithuanian Military Academy was also trading in firearms.
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