A criminal gang composed of Georgian nationals is facing trial in Paris for the systematic theft of rare literary works from major French libraries, with investigators probing possible ties to Russian state interests.
The Paris Trial
The trial, which began on Tuesday, June 9, in Paris, concerns thefts that occurred throughout France in 2023. Thieves targeted the Diderot Library at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, the National Library of France (BNF), and the University Library of Languages and Civilizations (BULAC) in Paris. French investigators believe two interconnected groups carried out the operation, yet none of the stolen volumes have been recovered to date.
Seven Georgian citizens are accused in the case. Four are currently in custody and present at trial, two remain at large with active arrest warrants, and one defendant’s proceedings have been postponed until December for procedural reasons. The defendants face charges of participating in an organized crime group and theft of cultural property, which carries a potential sentence of up to ten years.
Modus Operandi: Precision Forgeries
According to AFP, the perpetrators posed as regular library users to examine rare works. They would photograph and measure the books before replacing them with high-quality forgeries, complete with artificially aged paper and dark stains. In November, the National Library of France discovered the thefts and estimated total losses at 650,000 euros.
In July 2024, a second edition of Pushkin’s “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” appeared at an auction in Moscow. While the Litfond auction house claimed to possess purchase documents, French investigators remain skeptical. They suggest Moscow may be involved in these thefts as a strategic effort to recover cultural heritage amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Evidence of a Broader European Criminal Network
AFP reports that similar thefts have occurred across Europe, including in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland. In October 2023, the University of Warsaw Library reported the theft of numerous antiquarian books, including first editions by authors such as Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Krylov, Nikolai Gogol, and Mikhail Lermontov, valued at over 3.8 million Polish zlotys.
Stolen items from Warsaw were traced to Russia. Warsaw prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba confirmed that a Georgian suspect, Mikhail Z., testified he was acting on orders from a Russian contact who identified specific volumes to steal. An investigation began on November 2, 2023, and significant arrests were made in April 2024 through coordination by Eurojust and Europol.
Two suspects, 50-year-old Mikhail Z. and 49-year-old Beka T., were convicted and imprisoned abroad for similar thefts before being returned to France for this trial. Mikhail Z. was previously sentenced in Lithuania to three years and four months, while Beka T. received a three-year and six-month sentence in Estonia.