Bulgaria Regains Ownership of Antiques Seized in Canada

Bulgaria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Mladenov, proudly displays part of the priceless objects just returned from Canada in an effort to fight illegal antiques smuggling. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Mladenov, officially handed Tuesday to Deputy Culture Minister, Todor Chobanov, over 350 antique objects returned from Canada.

The objects – silver and bronze coins, jewelry and human figurines, dated from the Roman and Byzantine times, were seized by Canadian border authorities in 2008 and came back home due to the swift reaction of Canada and collaboration with Bulgarian institutions.

Mladenov expressed his deepest gratitude to all Canadian friends of Bulgaria for their partnership, which he says was the expression of the traditionally good relations between the two countries.

Canadian Ambassador, Philippe Beaulne, responsible for Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Cyprus, was also present at the official ceremony. He expressed his own satisfaction from the collaboration between Bulgaria and Canada and vowed his country would continue the fight against antiques' smuggling.

Todor Chobanov declared this was a "happy day for Bulgaria, marking another victory in the effort to preserve the country's historical heritage."

The ceremony was also attended by the Honorary Consul of Canada to Sofia, Ivo Prokopiev.

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